Accused
by TwistedRocketPower
Summary: Team Gibbs is called out to investigate the rape and murder of a Commander's daughter. At first, everything seems routine... until Tim's name shows up on a suspect list of one. Can the team clear his name? Or will Tim be put behind bars forever?
1. Routine

"No, Tony, I am never watching a movie with you again!" Ziva exclaimed as she sat at her desk, waving her arms.

"Come on, Zee, it wasn't that bad."

"Not that bad? Are you jacking me?"

Tony's eyebrows furrowed, "You either mean _joshing_ or _joking_… and, no, I'm not."

"What'd he make you watch?" Tim asked, getting tired of hearing the banter and not knowing what it was about.

"Something about a grape."

Tony sighed, "It was 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape?' and it's a great movie."

"Yeah, that one is pretty good," Tim agreed, "Why didn't you like it?"

"I never said I did not like the movie. It was Tony's behavior that was so disturbing."

"I was a gentleman!"

"You stopped the movie five times to go to the bathroom-"

"I had drank a lot of tea earlier."

"You spilled orange soda on my shirt-"

"I offered to wash it but you wouldn't take it off."

"I fell asleep and you drew on my face!"

Tony couldn't help but laugh at the memory of that. He turned to Tim, "I told her I used a permanent marker and she believed me for like an hour."

"Wow, Tony, you've really matured," Tim replied, "You've gone from acting like a ten year old to acting like a twelve year old. Congratulations."

Tony glared at him, then got up and walked over to Ziva's desk.

They continued bickering as Abby exited the elevator and headed to Tim's desk. She put her hands on her hips and glared down at him.

"Hey, Abbs," He began, "What's up?"

"Where. were. you?"

"What are you- Oh! Last night!"

She nodded, "Yes, last night. You were supposed to come over."

"Crap! I can't believe I forgot. I'm so sorry, Abby."

"I tried calling you, but you never answered either phone."

"My house phone never rang, and there aren't any messages on my cell."

"Well, it should have, and there should be."

"Listen, Abbs, I am really sorry. I was so tired after work that I completely forgot I was supposed to come over. I went straight home, got a shower, and went to bed."

Abby sighed. Although she was annoyed, she understood. They _had_ had a really long, tiring day, but they did solve their latest case. Now, they just had to wait for another.

Just then, Gibbs walked out of Vance's office, down the stairs, and into the bullpen, "Grab your gear, we got a case. Abby, why are you up here?"

"I was harassing McGee."

"Of course you were." He grabbed his stuff out of his drawer then headed for the elevator, the rest of the team, besides Abby, following behind.

"Be safe my little heartbeats!" She called out to them as they got on the elevator and left.

* * *

><p>"What's the case, Boss?" Tim asked as they headed to the car.<p>

"Nineteen year old, Alli Fisher. Her dad is Commander Caleb Fisher. She was found stuffed behind a dumpster, underneath a pile of garbage bags, in an alley off of Weatherford Road."

"Weatherford?" Tim repeated, "That's less than two miles from my apartment."

They reached the car and got inside, Gibbs and Ziva in the front, Tim and Tony in the back.

"That's creepy, McGoo," Tony replied, "I remember when I was a kid, this man was murdered about a mile or so from where I lived. I'd ride my bike to the crime scene everyday, hoping to become part of the investigation."

"You wanted to be a suspect?" Ziva asked.

"No. I wanted them to let me investigate."

Ziva laughed, "So what, you'd be the Doogie Bowser of criminal investigators?"

"_Howser_," Both Tony and Tim corrected at the same time.

* * *

><p>When they arrived at the scene, they all got out of the car.<p>

"Ziva, take a statement from the man that found her. He should be waiting with those officers right there," Gibbs said, pointing to the officers off to the right of them.

"Yes, Gibbs," Ziva replied then made her way over to them.

"Tony, photos. McGee, bag and tag."

"Right away, Boss."

"On it, Boss."

Tony and Tim headed over to the body, while Gibbs walked around, getting a layout of the area.

When Tim and Tony reached the body, neither of them could hardly handle the sight in front of them.

A young girl, who didn't look a day over sixteen, laying naked behind a dumpster. The bags of garbage that had been covering her was now on either side of her. It was obvious that the man who had found her had pushed the bags aside to try and help her.

"These are the times when this job sucks," Tony said.

"Yeah, it is," Tim agreed.

Tony took a deep breath and shook his head, then began taking photos. Tim would go in behind him and pick up anything lying around the girl.

"Hey Boss?"

Gibbs walked over to them, "Yeah, McGee?"

"How did someone know this was Commander Fisher's daughter?"

"First responders saw the dog tags around her neck. They're her dad's. They called in and found out she was reported missing late last night. Description matched, so they called us."

"Sorry I am late," Ducky said as he and Jimmy walked towards the others, "Mr. Palmer seems to think that left means right."

"I swear that thing said "turn right"."

"Dr. Fitz."

"What?"

"Dr. Fitz is an ears, nose and throat doctor, but he specializes in hearing problems."

"I don't have hearing problems, Dr. Mallard."

"Mhm."

"Time of death, Duck?" Gibbs asked, getting tired of listening to Ducky and Jimmy arguing.

"Jethro, I haven't even seen the body yet."

Gibbs stared at him, "I know."

"Right," Ducky replied, getting the hint.

He walked up closer so he could see behind the dumpster, "Oh dear," He said, looking at the body, "How young is she?"

"Nineteen," Gibbs replied.

Ducky shook his head, "Come along, Mr. Palmer, let's get to work."

Ducky and Jimmy walked over to the body and knelt down beside her, "I take it no one touched the body?" Ducky asked, knowing everyone knew that was his pet peeve.

"Nope," Tony replied, "Not I."

"Me either, Ducky," Tim added.

"Besides the man who found her, no one touched her, Duck. First responders only touched the dog tag, and they had gloves."

"Good."

Jimmy had already gotten to work on the liver probe. He looked at the temperature, "She's been dead roughly seven to eight hours."

"That would make time of death," Ducky looked at his watch, "Between 11pm and 12am."

Gibbs nodded once, "Thanks, Duck."

"You're quite welcome, Jethro."

Gibbs began to walk away and Jimmy looked over at Ducky, "Do you think_ I'll_ ever get a 'thank you' from him?"

"Probably," Ducky replied, "If you ever make it to a crime scene on time."

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, I know this first chapter wasn't that interesting, but <em>it is important<em>, I promise. **

**As far as updates go, this week I am very busy with graduation stuff going on but, after that, updates should become regular.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter (even though it didn't seem like much... it will) and I hope you all continue to read. Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks :)**


	2. A Match

Ducky continued looking over the body.

"What do you see, Ducky?" Tony asked.

"Well, her neck is badly bruised. It has also been snapped back. I believe, whoever did this to the poor girl, first restrained her by holding onto her neck, raped her, then killed her by breaking her neck."

Ducky noticed her hand looked like it was clutching something. He reached over and picked it up, then pried it open, "A button."

Tim took a step closer, "What?"

"She was clutching a button in her hand when she died. Maybe she pulled it off of her attacker."

"Here, I got it," Tim replied, an empty bag already in his hand.

Gibbs walked back over to them, putting his cell phone away, "I'm going back to NCIS to talk to Commander Fisher."

"Would you like me to come with you?" Tony asked quickly, knowing what Gibbs would say next.

"No. I want you, McGee, and Ziva to make sure every piece of garbage in, and around, that dumpster makes it back to NCIS. Heck, I want you to clean the whole alley."

Tony grimaced, "Yes, Boss."

* * *

><p>"You don't smell <em>that<em> bad," Abby said as she and Tim sat in the lab.

"Oh please, I smell like a human garbage disposal."

"Yeah… you kinda do," Abby had to agree, "But, that doesn't matter. What _does_ matter is that the garbage is now here, and it's sorted."

"How do you have it separated?"

"Food and drink items are down in the garage, along with electronics and weapons. I have all the clothing items in here," She said, walking over to her table, "I figure that's a good place to start."

"Probably right."

"Yeah. I was checking some of the stuff that had buttons, and I found this," She began, holding up a black jacket, "It has a button missing, and the one in Alli's hand matches these."

Tim stood up and took a closer look at the jacket, "I have one just like that at home."

"You do? Is it rare? Expensive? Anything to make it different from all the other jackets out there?"

Tim thought for a moment, "Yes, actually. You can only buy it at certain places, and they only make them if they are ordered. I'm gonna go get a list of the places that make and sell them," Tim began to leave, "Thanks, Abbs."

"No problemo."

* * *

><p>"What do you got, Duck?" Gibbs asked as he walked into autopsy.<p>

"A girl who is much to young to be lying on this steel table, Jethro," Ducky sighed, "Sometimes this life is not fair, not fair at all."

"I know, Duck, I know."

"Yes... Well, she was most definitely raped. Condom was used, so no DNA. From what I've seen, it seems she was grabbed from behind. There are marks on her mouth where someone held their hand over it to quiet her. They then took her back to the alley, removed her clothing, raped her, and then killed her by breaking her neck. As they raped her, they held a hand to her throat to keep her quiet during…" Ducky shook his head, "Such a shame."

"Did you-"

"Send all the evidence to Abby?" Ducky finished, "Of course I did, although she seems a bit overwhelmed at the moment."

Gibbs turned and headed out, "Thanks, Duck."

"You're welcome, Jethro."

Once Gibbs was gone, Ducky looked back down at Alli, "Now, young lady, where were we?.. Oh yes, I was twenty-two and in love, so I thought…"

* * *

><p>"And that's why The Godfather is a great movie."<p>

"You did not explain _why_ it is so great," Ziva replied to Tony, "You simply quoted a scene from the movie."

"Yeah! The_ best_ scene!"

Ziva rolled her eyes, "You are so strange."

"You should be used to that by now."

"You are like a disease, Tony. I want to get rid of you, but you keep coming back. There is no getting used to you."

Tony held a hand to his heart, "That one hurt, Ziva, that one hurt."

"You will get over it. Of that I am sure."

"Okay, I've got the list," Tim said, looking up from his computer.

"'Bout time. What took you so McLong?"

"Making sure I was thorough and didn't miss anything."

"Whatever. What's on the list?"

Tim grabbed the remote and pressed the button. Five stores popped up on the plasma, "These are the stores that sell that jacket in both Maryland and Virginia."

"What if he did not buy it here?"

Tim nodded, "Thought of that," He pressed the button again, and five more names popped up, "These jackets are only made and sold on the east coast. Very select stores. This style has only been out for two months so it would have to have been bought in that amount of time. It could only have been bought in Maryland, Virginia, Maine, or Massachusetts."

"Let's start callin'," Tony said, "See if anyone's ordered one of those jackets lately."

"Put that on hold," Gibbs said as he walked through the bullpen, "Abby has news." Gibbs didn't even stop, he just continued to the back elevator and the rest of the team followed.

* * *

><p>"What is it, Abbs?"<p>

Abby turned to them, smiling, "I don't know."

Gibbs sighed, "Abby-"

"Before you get all gibbsy, Gibbs, I do have something. There was sweat DNA on the jacket, a fingerprint on the button- which isn't Alli's, and I found what I think was Alli's clothes."

"Let me know if you-"

"Get a match?" Abby finished, "I already did."

"Well, who is it?"

Abby sighed. No one seemed to share the enthusiasm she had, "I was waiting on you all to find out. This is like the fastest I've _ever_ gotten results, guys." She turned back to her computer to click on the 'view results' button on her screen, "Get ready to meet the sickest, yet dumbest, rapist slash killer we've ever caught."

She clicked the button and a man's face appeared. Everyone froze.

"Oh my God," Abby said in shock.

Tim took a couple of steps closer to the plasma.

There was his face, with a '99.97% match' flashing in green right beside it.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, thank you to those who reviewed andor alerted the story. I am glad you are interested :) **

**Please review and let me know what you think of the chapter. This one picks up a little bit on the drama (at least the end does).**


	3. Not So Routine

After a few seconds of being in a silent shock, Tim turned to the team, "Boss, I… this has to be a mistake or… or a joke. Is this a joke, Abby?"

Abby shook her head, "I would never do that, Timmy."

"I know, but…" Tim turned back to the plasma, "But, how could that happen?"

"It must be your jacket," Ziva said, "Did you recently throw it out?"

"I just bought it. It's… it's at home, in my closet."

"Go get it. Now!" Gibbs demanded, "Tony, go with him."

"Yes, Boss."

"Boss, you don't think I-"

"Of course not, McGee, but we need to get this figured out as soon as possible. Go get the jacket."

Tim nodded, "Yes, Boss," He said, then he left out of the room. Tony followed closely behind.

"Gibbs, I- I don't understand how this happened," Abby said, looking at the plasma.

"Figure it out, Abby. Rerun the tests. Test everything we brought back from the crime scene. Everything, Abby!"

"I will, Gibbs, I will."

* * *

><p>The walk to the car was silent, Tim just wanted to get to his apartment as quickly as possible.<p>

"We're gonna get this straight, McGee," Tony said as he and Tim got in the car, "You're probably being framed, like I was-"

"_Probably?_ Try definitely, Tony!"

"Tim we'll get to your place, get your jacket, and all of this will go away."

Tim sighed, "Yeah," He replied, hoping it would be that simple.

* * *

><p>When they reached Tim's apartment, Tim practically jerked the keys out of the ignition, got out of the car, and ran up to his apartment. Tony had to jog to catch up with him, "McGee, calm down! It's not like the jacket has legs."<p>

Tim was already in his room, throwing everything out of his closet, when Tony walked in. He thought about offering to help, but didn't think Tim would be listening.

Tim continued throwing things out of his closet until there was nothing left to throw.

"No. No, no, no, no…" Tim started repeating quietly.

"What is it?" Tony asked, already knowing the answer.

"It's not here," Tim replied in disbelief, "It's not here, Tony!"

"Calm down. It's gotta be here somewhere. Let's look around the whole apartment."

"I've only worn it twice. Both times I put it right back in my closet."

"It's gotta be here, McGee. We'll find it."

Tim took a deep, nervous breath, "Fine. You take the living room, I'll keep looking in here."

"Okay, but you need to put on gloves first… just in case. There should be two pairs down in the car. I'll go get them, then we'll get started."

Tim nodded, "Okay."

* * *

><p>"Got anything yet, Abby?" Gibbs asked as he walked back into the room.<p>

"I just started rerunning the tests like ten minutes ago."

Gibbs gave her a _"So?"_ look.

"Gibbs, you know it takes more time than that! I'm doing the best I can. I'll clear this up and McGee will be off the hook."

"After you finish those tests, I want you to run tests on every piece of evidence we have. I don't care if it's a banana peel. You test for DNA."

"I know, Gibbs, you already told me. I'll test everything."

Gibbs went to leave, then he turned back around, "And no one hears about this. _No one._ Understand?"

Abby nodded, "Yes, I understand."

"Good."

* * *

><p>Tony gave up two hours into the search… although they had searched the entire apartment twice, so it was more like facing reality than giving up.<p>

Tony had tried to keep everything in order as he searched, but Tim ended that and now the entire apartment looked like a category five hurricane had hit it.

Tony decided enough was enough when Tim resorted to looking through his kitchen cabinets.

"Tim… Tim!" Tony had to quickly duck as Tim through out a can of vegetables.

"McGee! Stop it!"

"I can't. I can't stop looking, Tony."

Tony sighed and got out his cell phone. "I'll be right back," He said as he left out of the apartment.

Tony pressed 'speed dial 1', then put the phone to his ear and waited for Gibbs to answer.

"Why didn't I hear from you earlier?"

"Hello to you too, Boss. We were searching McGee's house… Well, Tim's still looking," Tony sighed, "It's not here, Boss."

Tony was met with silence.

"Did you hear m-"

"I heard you, DiNozzo. McGee's still lookin'?"

"He's going pretty crazy, Gibbs. He's destroyed his whole apartment and now he's looking through his kitchen cabinets… He's probably made it to his fridge now."

"Bring him back here."

"I will, but we need a team here to check for prints. If someone's framing McGee, then they've definitely been here."

"Abby will have new results soon. Just get McGee back to NCIS and we'll deal with the rest later."

"You got it, Boss."

They both hung up and Tony went back into the apartment.

"McGee, what did you do?" Tony asked when he saw Tim holding a bloody washcloth on his arm.

"I cut myself on a glass bottle," Tim replied.

Tony looked down and saw the glass on the floor, "How bad is it?"

"Not bad. I just… I just need to clean up the mess."

"I got it. Just press down harder on the cut. Is there still glass in the cut?"

Tim shook his head.

"Okay, just let me clean this up and I'll take you to NCIS. We'll get Ducky to look at it."

"No! No, Tony, I have to keep looking."

"McGee! It's not here!" Tony exclaimed, having to be harsher than he wanted, "You've destroyed your apartment, you almost killed me with canned vegetables, and you've started looking through your fridge and freezer for crying out loud! We're going back to NCIS!"

Tim didn't say another word. He left and went to his bathroom to clean the cut on his arm.

* * *

><p>Tim and Tony returned to NCIS twenty minutes later, looking like crap.<p>

"What happened to you?" Ziva asked when she noticed Tim holding his arm.

"Got a cut."

"Let me see." She pulled back the new washcloth he had over it, "You need stitches. That looks bad."

"The bleeding stopped. It can wait. I think I have bigger problems right now."

"What do we do now, Boss?" Tony asked.

Gibbs went to reply when his desk phone rang. "Hello… We'll be right down." Gibbs hung up then stood and started walking, "Abby has new results."

* * *

><p>Tim's heart was pounding as they rode down to the lab in the elevator.<p>

When they entered the lab, Abby was facing towards the door, her face already telling them what they worst feared.

"Say it, Abbs," Gibbs said.

Abby let out a deep breath. She found herself unable to make eye contact with Tim. She couldn't bare to see his reaction to the news.

"I took samples from all different areas of the jacket, testing for sweat DNA… The jacket is definitely Tim's, and the button found in Alli's hand definitely goes on the jacket. Which means…" Her voice trailed off, unable to finish.

Tim ran his fingers through his hair, "Which means I'm screwed."

* * *

><p><strong>Graduation is today! I'm so nervous... Help me feel better by reviewing please :) (Yes, I am bribing you. And I'm unashamed!)<strong>

**Seriously though, thanks for reading and reviewing! Saw a big bump up in the reviews from chapter one to chapter two. You guys are awesome-possum!**


	4. Bad Feelings

"Think, McGee!" Gibbs demanded as he stood over Tim, who was sitting at his desk, "Have you seen anyone or anything suspicious lately? Someone following you? Things moved around at your place? Anything?"

Tim shook his head, "No, Boss. I already told you, I haven't seen anything weird. Everything has seemed normal… up until now."

"There has to be something," Tony said, putting himself into the conversation.

Tim stood up, "Tony! There's nothing! Whoever did this is really good, okay? Maybe if it was you, then you would have noticed, but I haven't. I don't constantly look over my shoulder and worry about who's beside me!"

"Well, you should."

"Really? You don't think the future rape and murder charges I'm going to be slapped with is newsflash enough!"

Gibbs reached over and smacked the back of both of their heads, "Shut up, both of you. Arguing isn't gonna solve this."

"Sorry, Boss," Both of them replied at the same time. Tony went back to his desk, and Tim sat back down.

Gibbs thought for a moment, "Everyone, stay here," He said before walking off to the elevator.

* * *

><p>Once he was in the elevator, he flipped the switch and got out his cell phone. He took a deep breath before scrolling down his contacts. When he got to the right name, he pressed the call button, then held the phone to his ear and waited…<p>

"Hello."

"Fornell, it's Gibbs."

"I know it is, I saw your name on my caller ID. What's wrong?"

"Why does there have to be somethin' wrong?" Gibbs asked.

Fornell laughed, "Come on, Gibbs, I'm not an idiot. You don't exactly make social calls to me… or anyone for that matter. So, what's wrong?"

Gibbs sighed, "I got a problem."

"Don't we all."

"One of my agents is being framed."

"DiNozzo again? Another pair of legs?"

"No. It's McGee."

"McGee?" Fornell questioned, "Who'd frame McGee? What's it for? Hacking?"

"Rape and murder."

There was silence for a moment.

"I think I misheard you, Jethro. What'd you say?"

"You didn't mishear me, Tobias. He's being framed for rape and murder."

"How do you know he's being framed?"

"Oh come on, Fornell! You think McGee is capable of that? He's barely capable of opening a door without having a warrant to do it!"

"No, I know. I know. You want my team to come in and take over?"

"Not the whole team. Just you. My team can't investigate this, but I don't want it goin' far right now."

Fornell sighed, "Vance doesn't even know, does he?"

"He doesn't need to yet."

"Oh, Jethro, you're digging a deep grave."

"Wouldn't be the first time, Tobias."

"Ain't that the truth," Fornell agreed, "Okay, I can be there in two hours. I gotta bring my own forensic scientist though. I got one here, just as loyal as your Abby is. His name's Greg."

"That's fine. But no one else-"

"No one else hears about it, I know. This isn't my first dance. See ya soon."

Gibbs hung up. He took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead. He didn't have a headache at the moment, but he knew one would be coming soon.

Gibbs started the elevator back up and waited for it to reach whatever floor he had pushed on. He looked over and saw that it was autopsy.

The doors opened and he went to press the button for him to go back up, but Ducky was standing there, waiting to get on.

"Oh, Jethro, you're just the person I was looking for… Well, you and Abigail." Ducky got onto the elevator and pressed the button to the lab. He held out a small vial, "I found some of what looks like dried blood from underneath our victim's fingernails. I am taking the samples to Abigail."

Once again, Gibbs flipped the elevator switch, "Duck, McGee's bein' framed for this."

Ducky's eyebrows furrowed, "For Miss Fisher's demise?"

"Yeah. His jacket was found at the crime scene, and the button you found in Alli's hand was a match to the jacket."

"Oh dear."

"Yeah. I can't let Abby run those tests. We gotta wait for Fornell to get here with his forensic scientist, Greg. I can't take any chances with this."

"I understand, Jethro… I take it Director Vance knows about this?"

Gibbs just stared at him, giving Ducky all the answer he needed.

"Is that _not_ taking a chance, Jethro?"

"I don't want this getting big right now. All we have tying McGee to the scene is the jacket and the button-"

"Which was in the young girl's hand," Ducky pointed out.

"We can't prove he was the one wearing it at the time."

"Is there foreign DNA on the jacket?"

Gibbs sighed in frustration, "Not that Abby found."

"Well, Jethro, I can not say I agree with your methods, but it is not in my power to intervene. You know what is best for Timothy." Ducky looked at the vial, then up at Gibbs, "This may be his savior. I will give it to you, and you give it to Gregory when he and Fornell gets here."

Gibbs nodded, "Thanks, Duck."

"Please keep me updated, Jethro. I will help in anyway I can."

"I know, I will."

The elevator started back up again and they both headed off to do their jobs.

* * *

><p>"I can't do this," Tim said, breaking the long silence that had been looming over the bullpen.<p>

"Do what?" Ziva asked.

"This," Tim repeated, point blank, "I can't deal with being framed for something so… so horrible! What's gonna happen when this hits the news? No one will care that I've been framed, or that I'm completely innocent. All they're gonna hear is 'NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee has been charged for the rape and murder of a nineteen year old, Navy Commander's daughter'. That girl was killed so someone could frame me, and my life is ruined."

"McGee, Gibbs will keep this out of the media. Your life isn't ruined," Tony said, "And we _will_ find who did this."

"I don't know," Tim replied, "I've got a bad feeling."

"That is because things do not look good right now, McGee," Ziva told him, "But this will get fixed."

Tim sighed. He wanted to believe them… but he just couldn't seem to.

Just then, Gibbs came walking through the bullpen, "McGee, with me," He said, without even stopping. He headed back towards the conference room.

Tim reluctantly stood up and followed him, wondering what Gibbs had to say.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the late update. I meant to update yesterday, but at last minute it was decided that I was going to spend the night with my sister, bro-in-law, and nephew... then today we went to this "Kitten Shower" and they ended up adopting two kittens. A gray and white boy, named Spencer, and a black girl, named Olivia. They're so cute!<strong>

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter :) Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	5. Remember

"Sit down, McGee," Gibbs said as he opened the door to the conference room and let Tim in.

Tim did as he was told. He took a deep breath, nervous for what Gibbs was about to say.

Gibbs sat down in the seat next to Tim, "Fornell will be here in just under two hours," He began.

"For what?" Tim asked, feeling dumb the second the words came out.

"For you, McGee, why else?"

"Right, I know, I just… I thought this would go away quick. You obviously don't think that's gonna happen if you're calling Fornell already."

"You're right, I don't. Fornell is coming, along with one of his forensic scientists. They're gonna take over the _main_ part of the investigation, keeping us in the loop as they go."

"You're handing this over?" Tim asked, not believing it.

"No, I'm not "handing it over", McGee, I'm trying to keep your butt out of prison. If someone finds out you were a suspect in this case, and the team still investigated, whoever _did_ do this could get off scott-free. Do you want that?"

Tim shook his head, "No. Of course not."

"We'll keep this out of the press as long as we can… hopefully no one will ever know about it-"

"Boss," Tim interrupted, "There is not one part of me that wants anyone to ever find out about this, but our first priority should be to find who _really did_ do this to Alli. They obviously did it to frame me, and I don't want them to have the chance to hurt or kill somebody else just so they can get me in trouble."

Gibbs nodded, "We're gonna get him, McGee. I don't doubt that. But, until then," Gibbs got up and walked over to the side of the room. He picked up some paper and a pen off of a table, then walked back to Tim. He dropped the paper and pen right in front of Tim, "You're going to write down everywhere you've been, everything you've done, and every person you've seen during the past year. Girls or guys you barely talked to, friends, girllfriends, family, it doesn't matter. Everything."

Tim stared at him, "You're kidding me, right? How am I supposed to remember all that?"

"Don't you keep a journal thing?"

"I write about my day on my computer... _sometimes_."

"_Sometimes_?"

Tim sighed, "Okay, every night."

"Mhm. Look at it. Remember. Write it down. Tell me when you're done."

Gibbs walked out of the room and Tim rubbed his forehead, feeling a major headache coming on.

* * *

><p>Tim had been staring at his computer screen, or writing in a notebook, for almost two hours now. He had practically drowned out everyone around him, focusing only on remembering every day for the past year.<p>

The elevator doors dinged, but he didn't hear it. Fornell stepped off and walked over to Gibbs' desk, "Alright, I'm here. What now?"

Gibbs looked up from the papers he had been reading, "Where's George?"

"_Greg_?"

"Yeah, him."

"I sent him down to the lab to get to work."

"You sent him straight to the lab?"

"Yeah, why?"

Gibbs stood up and began walking to the back elevator, "Because I haven't told her yet, Tobias," He said to Fornell, who was following closely behind.

Fornell grimaced, "We better hurry then. Greg is soft and bruises easily."

* * *

><p>"I'm calling Gibbs if you don't leave within five seconds!"<p>

"Please, just listen, I came in with Agent Fornell. I'm supposed to be here."

"Five. Four. Three-"

"I'm supposed to be-"

"Two. One." Abby grabbed her phone and started dialing Gibbs' number. The elevator dinged at that moment. Gibbs and Fornell stepped out as Gibbs' phone began to ring.

"Hang up, Abby," Gibbs said as he walked in.

"This… This person wants to do _my_ job!"

"He's supposed to be here, Abbs."

She crossed her arms, "That's what _he_ said. Why is he here?"

"For McGee. You know we can't work this Abby… not officially."

Abby sighed, "We worked when Tony was framed."

"Also unofficially," Fornell replied, "And you weren't even supposed to be working that at all," He said to Gibbs, "You copied all of the information before handing it over."

"It's not like you didn't know," Gibbs said with a shrug. He turned back to Abby, "This is much bigger than legs being taken off of an already dead body. This is rape and murder, Abby."

"I know," Abby agreed, "I just want it to be over. Timmy doesn't deserve this."

"I know, Abbs. I know."

* * *

><p>"You could have told me," Greg said as he and Fornell walked to get coffee. They had been working for a few hours and were in need of a break.<p>

"Told you what?"

"That Abby would want to kill me."

Fornell laughed, "I thought she already knew you were coming. Figured she was passed the 'gonna murder you' stage."

"Yes, well, you were wrong."

"How are the tests going?" Fornell asked, changing the subject.

"I reran all the tests that Abby had already run. Came up with the same thing she did. That was basically just to make the law happy when whoever did this goes to trial. I'm running the blood samples now. They should be ready any minute."

"You better get back then."

Greg took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

Fornell laughed again, "Oh come on, Greg, she's not that bad. It's not like she's gonna bite you."

Greg sighed, "I wouldn't be so sure."

* * *

><p>"Okay, I think I'm done," Tim said, finally looking up after many hours of reading and writing.<p>

"You wrote everything down?" Gibbs asked.

"Everything I can remember."

Gibbs nodded, "Bring it to me."

Tim stood up and took the notebooks over to Gibbs.

Gibbs, and Fornell, who was sitting at the side of Gibbs' desk, were just about to begin looking through the books when someone started yelling for them.

It was Vance, standing at the balcony.

"Agents Gibbs, Fornell and McGee! My office, now!"

* * *

><p><strong>Now things shall actually start heating up :) Took a while, but I don't like rushing things.<strong>

**I'm glad everyone's liking Fornell coming into the mix. I love him :)**


	6. The Messenger

To Tim, the walk up to Vance's office felt like walking to his death. _'How could he know?'_ Tim wondered, _'I thought Gibbs didn't tell him yet? Maybe he overheard something… Yeah, that's it. That's how he found out.'_

"Inside," Vance said, holding the door open for the three agents.

Gibbs, Fornell and Tim filed in, then Vance closed the door and walked past them, to his desk.

"Please, sit," He said, anger still very clear in his voice.

"I think we'd all prefer to stand, Leon," Gibbs replied.

"Fine. Now, would someone like to tell me why I got a call from SecNav this morning, asking me about one of my agents who supposedly raped and murdered a nineteen year old girl?"

_'SecNav?'_ Tim thought, his heart pounding, _'How does SecNav know?'_

Gibbs must have read his mind, "How does SecNav know?"

"Might have something to do with this." Vance picked up his remote and turned on his TV. Fornell, Gibbs and Tim turned around to see a female reporter, live on the air, discussing the case. In a small box to the side of her head, was Tim's photo.

"Oh my God," Tim said in shock. He looked at the familiar background in behind the reporter, "Oh my God," He said again, "They're at my apartment!"

Gibbs turned back to Vance, "He's being framed."

"You think I don't already know that? I may not know McGee as well as you, but I know without a doubt that he would _never_ do this. However, what we know doesn't seem to matter. Apparently all the evidence, up to this point, points right at Tim." Vance walked around his desk, never breaking eye contact from Gibbs, "You know, I don't appreciate being called by SecNav, being asked about something going on at my agency, and having no idea what's going on. Can you explain that, Agent Gibbs?"

"Yeah," Gibbs replied with a nod, "I didn't tell you."

"I figured that already. _Why_ didn't you tell me?"

"Because I thought it would blow over by now-"

"That's why Fornell's here then? Just for a small problem that would blow over?"

"No," Gibbs replied, "Once I knew it _wouldn't_ blow over I called him so he could start workin' the case. He and his forensic scientist came down."

"Gibbs, I know you'd do anything for your team, but not telling me about this sooner could do more harm than good."

"How's that?" Fornell asked.

"SecNav seeing me as an idiot who doesn't have any idea what's going on at his agency, or watch the news apparently, does not bode well with them. If McGee ends up having to be taken in to custody, they may not play as nicely as I could have gotten them to before."

Gibbs sighed, then turned towards Tim, who was still staring at the TV screen, "McGee. McGee!"

"Yeah, Boss!" Tim answered loudly, coming out of his trance.

"Did you tell anyone about this?"

Tim eyes widened, "Tell anyone? Why would I tell anyone? My parents are gonna see this, Gibbs! My grandparents watch the news all the time! My sister…" His voice trailed off and breathing seemed to be becoming more difficult, "I didn't… I wouldn't…"

"Calm down, McGee."

"How did the news get a hold of this?" Fornell asked.

"Don't know," Vance replied, "Said it was an anonymous source."

Gibbs took a deep breath. One person came to his mind. The only person who knew about this that Gibbs didn't know… The only one who would blab.

He cursed and quickly exited the room. Vance, Fornell and Tim followed closely behind.

Fornell knew exactly where this was going, "He wouldn't do this, Jethro!" He exclaimed as they headed for the elevator.

"We'll see about that, Tobias."

* * *

><p>Tony and Ziva watched as the four men walked to the elevator. All deep, angry expressions on their faces.<p>

"That doesn't look good," Tony said.

"Really? What was your first clue?"

Tony turned to Ziva and glared, "I'm serious, Zee. If Vance found out about this, then who else knows? Who told him?"

Ziva took a deep breath, "I do not know."

"I think I do," Another agent, Henry, said. He sat on the other side of the bullpen, right across from Ziva.

They both turned in his direction.

"How did you hear us?" Tony asked, "And why are you listening?"

"Sorry, didn't mean to, but I was looking at my homepage, ZNN, and saw something. I was about to tell you guys about it and I overheard. Come here."

Tony and Ziva glanced at each other, then they walked over to his desk.

Right on the front of ZNN's homepage, was Tim's photo, with the headline, 'NCIS Agent accused of Rape and Murder'.

Tony ran his hands through his hair, "Oh God."

* * *

><p>The elevator doors opened and Gibbs, Fornell, Tim and Vance stormed out.<p>

They came into the lab and Abby turned at the sound of the footsteps, "Guys, I was just abou-"

"You!" Gibbs said through gritted teeth, pointing at Greg, "You let this out, didn't you?"

"Let what out?" He asked, confused.

"I swear, you will not have your job, and possibly not your face, by the end of the day."

"Calm down, Gibbs," Vance warned.

"Gibbs, what are you talking about?" Abby asked.

"I made the news," Tim explained.

"Oh… Oh, God, Tim I'm so… I-" Abby didn't know what to say. Nothing seemed like it would help.

Abby turned to Gibbs, who seemed to be giving the death glare to Greg. She stepped in-between them, "He didn't do it, Gibbs."

"You don't know that," Gibbs replied.

"Yeah, I do. I was just about to call you to tell you that our system had been hacked. I don't know who did it, but whoever it was was really good. They didn't show themselves until after they were already gone. They got copies of all of our latest cases. Opened and closed ones."

"Going how far back?" Vance asked.

"About four months. Listen, Gibbs, besides when Greg went to get coffee with Fornell, he's been with me. He didn't do this."

Gibbs took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, "Find out who _did_, Abby."

"I will."

"What about the blood test results, Greg?"

"Um, I was… I was just about to read the results. Hang on."

He went over to the computer and pulled up a page. After a few seconds of reading, he turned back to the full room of wondering faces… He hoped none of these people decided to shoot the messenger.

"It's… It's a match… to Agent McGee."

* * *

><p><strong>I had the hardest time getting this chapter written. I couldn't figure out how to lay it all out... But, I finally got it how I wanted it, and I hope you enjoyed :) Let me know!<strong>


	7. Taken Away

Tim sat at his desk, staring blankly ahead. He had been that way for the past two hours, while everyone waited for Vance, Gibbs and Fornell to exit MTAC. They had been talking to SecNav and, by the amount of time it was taking, things couldn't have been going well.

Tony glanced over at Ziva. They had been watching Tim as they waited for news. They were both becoming more and more worried by the second.

Anyone who passed by the bullpen would look at Tim. Some would stare, some would _glare_, some would steal a small glance, and others- who knew him better- would look at him sympathetically… Tim noticed all of the looks out of the corner of his eyes, but he ignored them all, even though each look was like fire burning him slowly.

Tony decided to get up and try to talk to Tim. He did have _some_ clue about what it was like to be framed… although not to these extremes.

Tony walked over to Tim's desk and bent down in front of it, his arms resting on the desk.

Tim was now staring at him, although the only reason he was doing that was because Tony was directly in front of him.

"McGee, we'll figure this out. Vance and Gibbs will take care of everything with SecNav and you'll be in the clear."

Tim's eyes locked with Tony's. The first sign of life from him in two hours. "I keep waiting for my mom to call. My grandma will call her once she sees the news, then my mom will call me. Sarah might call first, depending on if she's awake or not."

Tony went to reply, but Tim continued.

"The reporters... They're outside my house, Tony. They've already got rapist _and_ murderer pinned on me before they even get the facts!" Tim stood up, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to pee. It'll probably be the last time I'll ever be able to do it in privacy."

As he walked off, Tony turned back to Ziva.

"Should you not follow him?" Ziva asked.

"He's not goin' anywhere," Tony replied, "Plus… he might be right."

"Oh, come on, Tony, McGee will not be put in prison forever."

"Maybe not forever, but right now we have nothing to say he _didn't_ do it."

"But _we_ know he did not do it."

"Oh, yeah, that'll go over well with a judge," Tony began to pretend he was in court, "Judge, I know that Tim's jacket was found at the crime scene, and I know the young girl was holding the button _off of_ the jacket, and yes his blood was under her fingernails, but take the word of his closest friends who would do _anything_ for him. Tim didn't do it." Tony sighed, "Yeah, that'll _definitely_ work."

Ziva took a deep breath, "I get the point, Tony."

A moment later, Abby exited the elevator and came into the squadroom.

"What are you doin' here, Abbs?" Tony asked.

"I couldn't stay down in the lab any longer. I needed to know what's going on."

"We don't know yet."

"Where's Timmy?"

"Bathroom."

Just then, the door to MTAC opened and Fornell, Vance and Gibbs walked out. None of them looked happy at all, but especially not Gibbs.

As they walked into the bullpen, Tony looked at Gibbs, "What's happening?"

"Where's Agent McGee?" Vance asked, immediately noticing his absence.

"In the bathroom."

"You let him go off by himself?"

"Don't worry, I didn't escape," Tim said as he walked into the bullpen, "Not like I could with everyone watching me wherever I go… So, what's gonna happen?"

"You're gonna be comin' with me," Fornell answered.

"What?" Tony exclaimed.

Gibbs sighed, "SecNav's gonna let Fornell and the FBI have custody of Tim. He'll be in a single person cell until arraignment, then we'll get him out on bail."

"Will he even _get_ bail?" Ziva asked.

"He should," Vance replied.

"And if I don't?"

"Then you'll go back to the cell until trial-"

"But it won't go that far," Gibbs interrupted, "I won't let it."

Tim nodded, although he wasn't sure he believed Gibbs, "So, Fornell, you gonna cuff me now?"

Everyone looked in Fornell's direction.

"I don't think that's necessary, kid."

Abby felt tears filling in her eyes, "Gibbs, you can't let them take him away!"

Tim turned to her, "They don't have a choice, Abby."

"But- but you don't belong in a cell, Tim." She came up to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'll be okay, Abbs," He said calmly as he returned the hug.

"We'll get you out, Timmy. Greg and I, we'll do everything we can. The whole team will. We'll find the jerk that did this."

"I know," Tim replied, still unsure if he actually believed it.

Fornell stepped forward, "We gotta go, McGee."

Tim released Abby, but she couldn't seem to let him go. Gibbs went over to her and pulled her back, and tears streamed down her face.

Tim looked at Gibbs, "When my family calls, will you..."

"I'll tell them everything, Tim."

"Thanks."

Tim took a deep breath, then began walking to the elevators. Fornell looked over at Gibbs, "I'll take care of him, I promise."

"I know you will," Gibbs replied.

They all watched as Tim and Fornell stepped onto the elevator, and the doors closed.

Abby wiped a tear from her face, and Gibbs wrapped his arm around her, letting her cry onto his shoulder.

They all knew this was different. This wasn't like when Tony got taken away. This was a lot bigger… and Gibbs could feel, in his gut, that it would get much worse.

* * *

><p><strong>Loving the reviews, and all the alerts... You guys are the Mc to my Gee and the Di to my Nozzo. ;)<strong>

**I feel odd... I have nothing else to say this time :O**


	8. Advice

Only minutes after Tim left, his work phone began to ring.

Everyone looked around at one another. They all knew it had to be someone from Tim's family.

Gibbs took a deep breath and walked around Tim's desk… He was not looking forward to this.

"Hello," He answered.

Tony, Ziva, Abby and Vance all saw the "Go away" look on Gibbs' face, so they all broke apart and went in different directions, getting back to work.

"Yes, Mrs. McGee… No, he's not available right now… This is Agent Gibbs, I can tell you everything you need to know…"

* * *

><p>Abby was down in the lab, trying to figure out who hacked into NCIS's computer system, while Greg was working on more of the evidence from the crime scene.<p>

"Got anything yet, Abbs?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the lab, carrying a Caf-Pow in his hand.

She sighed, "No. Nothing… I _would_ have something, if Timmy were here to help me."

Gibbs sat down the drink, "Abbs, you know everyone wants him here as much as you do, but we gotta do this the right way."

"I know what we have to do, Gibbs," She replied, a slight chip on her shoulder.

"Abbs," He said softly, knowing that would make her true feelings return.

Her face quickly softened and she wrapped her arms around him, "I hate this, Gibbs. More than anything."

"I know, Abby," He replied, rubbing her back, "I know."

She pulled back so she could look at Gibbs, "Tim's a great guy. He'd never hurt anyone. _Ever._ He shouldn't be behind bars, Gibbs. It's not right."

Gibbs took a hold of Abby's shoulders, "We can keep saying what should and shouldn't be, but that won't help him any. If you really want to help McGee, then find the hacker."

Abby nodded and took a deep breath, forcing herself to be strong, "Okay, I will. I'll call you the second I know anything."

"Okay." Gibbs turned to head out, but Abby called him back.

"Gibbs."

"Yeah, Abbs?"

"Tim's parents… How did they take it?"

"Not well. They're flying out tomorrow. I told them there was nothing they could do, but…"

"But they're his family," Abby finished.

Gibbs nodded, "Yeah."

* * *

><p>As Fornell pulled into the FBI headquarters parking lot, he was met by a crowd of reporters.<p>

"Oh crap," Fornell said with a sigh, visibly annoyed, "I was hopping we'd beat 'em here."

"How did they even find out that we'd _be_ here?" Tim asked, horrified by all the people and cameras- all wanting him.

"They're reporters, Agent McGee. They find out everything."

Fornell pulled up as close as he could to the entrance of the building, "Don't get out, I'm gonna call for my agents to come help us inside," He pulled out his cell phone and began dialing, then he looked over at Tim, who was staring out at the people, "Word of advice, McGee, stare straight ahead. Don't look any of them in the eye, and when we get out, don't speak."

Tim nodded and looked forward, not giving any of the cameras or reporters any attention.

"Agent Michaels," Fornell began once the agent answered his phone, "I'm gonna need you and Agents Darwin and Parkins to come out now and help me get Agent McGee inside… I'll explain later… Yes, that is why all the people are here… Just get out here, Michaels!"

He hung up, "They'll be out any minute."

"You need to handcuff me," Tim said.

"Huh?"

"You can't let me out without handcuffs. Do you know how big of a riot that would cause?"

Fornell reached and got out his handcuffs.

Tim put his hand out, "I'll do it. If you do it, they'll see."

Fornell handed them over and Tim hid his hands as he cuffed himself… It was an odd feeling, but he didn't take too much time to dwell on it.

A couple of seconds later there was a knock on Tim's window. There was Agents Michaels, Darwin and Parkins, all working to stay in front of the vultures who called themselves "reporters".

"Stay there," Fornell told Tim, "I'll get out and go around. Here's how it goes: I open the door for you, I hold onto your arm as you walk inside. Michaels will be in front of us on my side, Parkins will be in front on your side. Darwin will be beside you. Like I said before, keep your head straight and don't speak… And kid?"

"Yeah?"

"_Don't_ show any fear."

Fornell didn't want to say it, but right now things didn't look good… and prisoners get to watch the news. The last thing they needed to know was that the rapist/killer agent was also terrified.

Tim nodded, "Okay."

Fornell got out of the car and hurried around to Tim's side, yelling at the reporters to get out of the way. Once he got to his agents, he spoke to them for a moment.

During this time, Tim was wondering how the heck things changed so quickly… He hadn't realized, until that moment, that they had all worked through the night. It was now six o'clock in the morning… Tim had lost all track of time.

Fornell opened the passenger door. The yelling from the crowd pulled Tim out of his thoughts.

Fornell grabbed Tim's arm and helped, _or pulled_, him out of the car.

Microphones were automatically shoved in Tim's face, with people asking all kinds of questions.

"How did it feel, raping that young woman?"

"How long have you been killing?"

"Did you want to get caught?"

"What made you start killing?"

"Do you wish you could do it again?"

There were tons more questions, but those were the only ones Tim heard. The rest just sounded like garble as all the voices mixed.

All these people… They had already decided that he'd committed those crimes. They didn't care that he was being framed, that he was a good person, that he'd never hurt a soul… unless it was on the job, and even then he felt terrible about it.

They got him into the building as quickly as possible… Then it was time to begin going through the booking process.

* * *

><p>Tim sat in his cell, unsure of what to think. He didn't know whether to be depressed, angry, annoyed, embarrassed, humored, hyper, calm, loud, quiet… He was even considering that maybe it was time to meditate. That's when he realized that him, plus too much alone time, didn't mix well.<p>

He wasn't sure, but he guessed he had been in the cell for about two hours now… and God was it ever boring. Fornell had come in a few minutes earlier, telling Tim that he'd be back with breakfast soon. Tim found himself unable to muster up an appetite, but he knew he should probably eat anyway.

"Orange is not your color, Probie."

Tim turned at the familiar voice, "Tony. What are you doing here?"

"First, here's breakfast," He said, handing Tim a sandwich and a water bottle through the bars.

Tim took it and set it on the cot, "You came here to hand me breakfast?"

"No," Tony replied, "No, I came here to go through an unbelievably long list of people who might want to put you in prison."

"Seriously?"

"Very. I have some FBI Probies getting the files out of the car. We've got people in prison because of you, people who are out of prison but _were_ in prison because of you, we've got their families, their friends, the gang members, the hackers you've caught, etc., etc.. Turns out _you_, McGoo, actually do have a lot of enemies."

They were both silent for a moment.

"Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"They're not gonna be able to keep me at FBI headquarters for long, are they?"

Tony took a deep breath, "No, they're not."

"I'll be going to..?"

"Federal Correctional Institute, Cumberland, Maryland."

Tim nodded, "I guess we better get started then."

* * *

><p><strong>Turns out I'm better at personal stories than case-heavy stories... I know where and how I want this story to go, but it's tough for me to actually get there haha... I hope this chapter didn't suck. I spent a lot of time looking up different prisons and researching them to where I had at least some clue where Tim may go if this was real, but if I got stuff wrong... sorry.<strong>

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews :)**


	9. One Of Those

Tim was sitting in the small courtroom. Arraignment was about to be held. He had been sitting in the cell at FBI headquarters for almost twenty-six hours… most of the time, he and Tony were going over people who would want him to suffer. That didn't really get them anywhere. There were so many people and not much of a way to narrow it down.

Just a few hours earlier, Tim met his lawyer, Shawn Quinn, that Gibbs had got for him. He had the best record for wins of anyone Gibbs knew.

Now, they were both sitting side by side, waiting for the judge.

There were about twelve reporters in the back of the room. There would have been way more, but a maximum of twelve is what was allowed.

There were also a few people sitting in the seats. Two people on Tim's side, and four on the other. The only one Tim knew was Fornell.

A couple of minutes later, the back doors opened. Tim turned around to see his mom, dad, and sister all walking in… along with Gibbs.

His eyes widened and he stood up. Shawn looked up for a minute to see what Tim was doing, but when he saw Gibbs, he looked back down at his paperwork to focus on that.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked, extremely embarrassed for his family to see him in an orange jumpsuit and cuffs.

"We're here for _you_, honey," His mom, Judy, replied, tears in her eyes.

Tim looked at Gibbs, "You shouldn't have let them come," He said.

Gibbs took a deep breath, "I tried, McGee. They wouldn't take no for an answer."

Tim's dad, Eli, patted Tim's shoulder, "You're gonna get out of this, kid. We all know you didn't do it."

"Thanks," Tim replied, although the words made him feel no better.

Sarah remained silent, and avoided eye contact. Not because she thought Tim might have done it, but because she had no idea what to say to him… He had been there for her completely when she was framed, and now she wondered how the heck he did it. She also realized just how hard it must've been for him.

Shawn tapped Tim's shoulder, "We're about to get started," He said.

Tim nodded, "I gotta sit back down."

"Come on, let's sit here," Gibbs said, leading the family to the first row of seats.

"Now remember," Shawn began, "You'll be informed of your impending charges, and of your right to retain counsel… which is already taken care of. Also, you-"

"My bail, if I get it, will be set," Tim finished, "I know."

Shawn nodded and looked down at his suit, rubbing out the few wrinkles that had formed throughout the morning. "I just hope we don't get Judge-"

He was cut off by the bailiff announcing the judge's arrival and telling everyone to stand. At the sound of the judge's name, Judge Fallon, Shawn groaned, "Crap."

"What?" Tim asked in a whispered tone as they stood.

Shawn shook his head, "Nothing. This is just gonna be a lot tougher than I had hoped."

Tim sighed, "That sounds reassuring."

"Sit," The, _at least_, seventy year old judge said grumpily.

Everyone, except Tim, Shawn, and the prosecutor, sat down.

"Let's get this done quick," Judge Fallon began, "The defendant, _Special Agent_ Timothy McGee, has been charged with rape, and murder of the first degree," He said, saying "Special Agent" as though in disgust, "Do you understand these charges?"

"Yes, Your Honor," Tim replied.

"And how do you plead?"

"Not guilty."

"Alright. No bail. Timothy McGee must immediately be sent to the Federal Correctional Institute, Cumberland, Maryland until trial."

Tim turned to Shawn, looking incredibly confused. Shawn looked the same way… Heck, even the prosecutor was confused.

"Excuse me," Shawn began right before the judge banged his gavel, "No bail? Agent McGee is most certainly not a flight risk, nor is he a threat to anyone."

"I believe Alli Fisher would disagree with that," The prosecutor returned.

"The charges against Agent McGee are false. He's being framed-"

"That's funny, from what I've seen and heard, all the evidence points _to_ him."

"He's a federal agent for crying out loud!"

"Are you saying federal agents can do no wrong?" The judge asked.

"No, what I am saying is that he will be surrounded by people at all times. If not his co-workers who, I feel the need to remind you, are also federal agents, then by media. He wouldn't be able to make it out of country. Heck, he won't be able to make it out of his house!"

"Stop!" Judge Fallon yelled, putting his arms up. "I am sick and tired of officers, agents, and everyone else working for the government thinking that they can get away with whatever they want. I see _Agent_ McGee as a threat and I have made my decision. No. bail."

"It sounds to me that you're convicting him before he even gets a chance in court," Shawn said angrily.

"I don't care what it sounds like to you. If you don't like it, appeal."

"I intend to!"

"A trail date will be set at a later time," Judge Fallon banged the gavel, "We're adjourned. Take Agent McGee into custody."

Tim stood and turned around to his family and Gibbs. His mom and Sarah were crying, his dad was holding back his tears, and Gibbs looked like he could kill… most likely the judge.

"It'll be okay," He said, looking them straight in the eyes, "_I'll_ be okay."

Before anyone had the chance to say anything to him, two officers began pulling him away.

As he walked off, he thought about all the times he and the rest of the team would tell a suspect what would happen to them in prison… just to freak them out. Tim knew_ exactly_ what other prisoners did to the ones who were charged with rape.

Being a killer was one thing. Being a rapist was one thing. But being a rapist and killer to a teenage girl… that was completely different.

Some men could kill another man, or a woman, and think nothing of it… but a child or teenager? They'd _never_ kill them.

Some men could rape women, or another man, and never think about it… but a child or teenager? They'd _never_ touch them.

It was as though there were different levels of being a terrible human being in prison…. and men who hurt young girls or boys, they were the worst.

Tim was only two and a half hours away from being one of those men.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so the only stuff I know about court is from watching Law and Order:SVU for about the past 5 years. I also spent about an hour or so looking stuff up, but otherwise, I don;t know what goes on... That being said, if I'm off on something, I'm sorry. <strong>

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for all the reviews :)**


	10. Fear

Gibbs stepped out of the elevator, knowing what was coming next… and dreading every second of it.

He looked towards the bullpen to see everyone standing there, waiting.

As he reached Tony and Ziva's desk, Abby walked up to him, "How'd it go, Gibbs? How much was bail? Was it already paid? Where's he gonna go? Wh-"

"Abigail, let him speak," Ducky said, coming up to her and taking her by the arm. He pulled her over to the side, by him, so Gibbs could have some space.

Then they saw it… The look in Gibbs' eyes. Whatever had happened, it wasn't good. Not that any of this had been good, but the arraignment had to have been _especially_ not good.

"What happened?" Tony asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

Gibbs looked around at each of them, "The judge wouldn't allow any bail… and no date has been set for the trial."

Abby's eyes widened.

"Where is he?" Ziva asked.

Gibbs took a deep breath, which told Tony everything he needed to know.

"Cumberland," Tony said… it wasn't a question.

Gibbs nodded, "Cumberland."

Tony ran his fingers through his hair, "Oh my God."

"No," Abby said at the same time, tears coming to her eyes, "No, he- he can't! They… Stuff- Stuff happens to people who are accused of what he's being accused of!"

"Plus he is a federal agent," Ziva added, "They will-"

"Stop," Gibbs interrupted before she could finish. He didn't need her to say what they would do to Tim. He already knew. They all did.

"Gibbs, you have to get him out of there!" Abby demanded.

"What do you want me to do, break him out?" Gibbs replied, obviously stressed out by the whole situation. His lack of sleep was also catching up with him.

"We have to find who is framing him," Ziva said, putting things back into perspective, "That is what will help Tim the most."

Tony nodded in agreement, "Let's get back to work," He said, both he and Ziva turning and going to their desks...

Abby sighed and wiped the tears off of her cheeks, "I've almost figured out who the hacker is… I'll call when I'm done."

She walked off, trying to forget about what happened to people like Tim in prison.

Gibbs rubbed his eyes. "I'll be back," He said, then turned and headed for the elevator.

"Should we go with him?" Tony asked.

"No," Ducky replied, "I will go and speak with Jethro. You two keep working."

Ducky walked to the elevator, getting there just in time to slip his fingers into the closing doors.

The doors opened back up and Ducky stepped inside.

"I wanna be alone right now, Duck."

"No, you do not, Jethro."

"I'm pretty sure I do."

The doors closed once more and the elevator started up. Ducky reached over and flipped the emergency switch, "Well, whether you want to be alone or not, I am here and we are going to talk."

Gibbs sighed. He put his head into his hands for a moment, trying to get rid of some of the exhaustion and worry that was clouding his mind, "They're gonna kill him there, Ducky!"

"Now, Jethro, don't you think you are being a little dramatic?"

"No," Gibbs replied with no hesitation, "We all know what they do to agents in prison, and we know what they do to people who rape and murder young girls. Tim has three targets on his back! If they don't kill him, he'll wish he was dead."

"Would you be this worried if it was Tony… or even Ziva?"

"What? Yes, I would."

"I don't believe that, Jethro. Yes, I understand that Tim will _no doubt_ have it rough in prison, but he is no weaker than your other agents. You do not doubt either Tony nor Ziva's ability to stand up for themselves, but Tim is a different story… Am I wrong?"

"Tim wouldn't be on my team if I thought he was weak. What are you getting at, Ducky?"

"Timothy has been on your team for seven years. I believe he has learned a thing or two from you. _He knows_ how to stand up for himself, Jethro. He knows how to take care of himself. He is not the scared agent he was when he first began at NCIS… I believe that is how you still think of him sometimes."

Gibbs shook his head, "Ducky, it's him against about four hundred other prisoners, most of which weigh about _five times_ the size of McGee. I don't care how strong he's gotten since he started workin' here. If they put him with the rest of the general population… he doesn't stand a chance."

* * *

><p><strong>Just a small chapter to show the rest of the team's emotions a little bit. I ended it here because if I would have continued then, well, it wouldn't have had the same impact... <em>I guess<em>.  
><strong>

**Anyway, thank you all for the encouraging reviews. They've been _MUCH_ needed in this story as this is my first big case-heavy fic. So, thank you, thank you, thank you.**

**One last thing: Have any of you ever watched The Good Guys? I started watching it on Netflix yesterday and almost never got this chapter finished because of it. It's hilarious and I'm so bummed it's already canceled. Also, Colin Hanks and Sean Murray could pass as twins. They look so much alike... and, in real life, they're only nine days apart. Anyway, just wondering if there were any other fans.**


	11. Something Giving

"Come on!"

"Get him!"

"Kill him! Kill him!"

"Shouldn't have messed with him, you idiot!"

Seeing and hearing the fight, eight guards started running towards where it was happening, in the middle of the exercise yard.

"You think… that's funny?" The man yelled, throwing punched between every few words, "You think… it's just a… funny little joke?.. It's not… funny now… is it?.. You freak!"

The guards arrived and started pulling the two men apart… Well, really only pulling _one_- seeing that the other was one punch away from being unconscious.

"Get him out of here!" One guard yelled to the others, "Put him in lockdown! And get this prisoner a doctor!"

* * *

><p>"How long this time?"<p>

"Forty-eight hours."

They slammed the door, leaving Tim alone in solitary.

"Forty-eight hours," Tim repeated, "Good job, McGee."

He sat down on the floor and looked at his bruised and bleeding knuckles. They should hurt- he had just punched a man in the face over twenty times- but he didn't feel any pain. He did, however, feel satisfied- slightly smiling as he stared at his banged up hands.

"That idiot deserved it."

* * *

><p><em>Ten minutes earlier…<em>

Tim was lifting weights, just minding his own business, when Rick Florez came by. Rick was a _real_ killer, found after murdering four young women in their early twenties. He'd been in prison for two years now… and had one hundred and ninety more to go.

In the six months that Tim had been at Cumberland, Rick was his biggest problem… and also his biggest motivation. If it wasn't for Rick, Tim never would have started lifting weights… or learned how to beat the crap out of people.

"Hello, Timmy."

"Get out of my face," Tim replied, adding some choice words onto the end of his sentence.

"Oh, big talk from the federal agent. That's cute."

Tim dropped his weights and got up off of the bench. He got up close to Rick, "I swear, if you don't get out of my face, you'll wish you were never in front of it." He had no patience when it came to Rick… or ninety percent of the prisoners here.

"Now I'm scared," Rick replied with a laugh. He stepped closer to Tim, "Is that how you talked when you were raping that little girl? I bet you enjoyed it. That's probably why you became a cop… so you could get off on listening to victims' stories."

Tim clenched his jaw. He drew back with his fist and quickly swung forward, taking Rick to the ground. It could have stopped there, but Tim didn't want it to. He got down top of Rick and continued punching…

* * *

><p>Gibbs sat in his basement. It had been exactly three months since he had seen his youngest agent. Three months since he made that final visit, which he could never forget… but wished, more than anything, that he could.<p>

_Three months earlier…_

_Tim sat down across from Gibbs. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Gibbs looked Tim up and down, like a father checking to see if his son was okay… Tim wasn't._

_He had dark circles under his eyes, and he was skinnier than Gibbs had ever seen him before. His face was sunken in and, if Gibbs could have seen his stomach and chest area, he would have seen Tim's ribs protruding._

_"McG-"_

_"Why are you here?" Tim asked, his voice hard._

_"To talk to you, Tim."_

_"About?"_

_"How are you?" Gibbs asked, regretting the question almost immediately._

_Tim snorted, "How am I?.. That is the question. I'm great. Never better. Thank you so much for asking," He replied sarcastically._

_Gibbs sighed. Just looking into Tim's sad eyes made him depressed, but hearing Tim talk was even worse._

_"Tim-"_

_"Have you found the person? The right person?"_

_"No."_

_"Any new evidence?"_

_"No."_

_"Anything to prove my innocence?"_

_"No, Tim."_

_"Then why are you here?"_

_"Why do you think, McGee?" Gibbs replied, becoming annoyed, "I care about you and I wanted to check on you! You're a part of my team."_

_Tim shook his head, "No. I'm not a part of that team anymore."_

_"Why would you say that?"_

_"Look at me, Gibbs! I am a mess! I'm not the same person I used to be and I never will be. I'm not an agent anymore. I'm not anything anymore… besides a rapist and killer."_

_Gibbs leaned in closer to Tim, "You ever say that again and I swear I will shoot you."_

_"Please do. I would rather enjoy that right now. It's about the only thing that hasn't happened to me in the past three months."_

_Gibbs didn't respond… He wasn't even sure what to say._

_Tim laughed, "Never thought you'd be speechless," He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, "Listen Gibbs, don't come back here unless you have news for me. I don't wanna see you, Tony, Ziva, Ducky or Abby. Tell them that. Don't. come. back." With that said, Tim got up and a guard escorted him back to his cell._

_Gibbs left… and never came back._

Gibbs was pulled out of his thoughts with the sound of footsteps on his stairs.

He looked over to see Abby there. She stopped when she reached the bottom step and she stared at Gibbs.

"You okay?" Gibbs asked.

Abby shook her head, "No."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Yes."

Gibbs nodded toward a chair that was across from him, on the other side of wooden coffee table he was working on, "Sit."

Abby walked over to the chair and sat down. Gibbs didn't push her to talk. He knew she'd start the conversation when she was ready.

She was quiet for about a minute, just looking down at the table.

Finally she looked up at him, "I was thinking about Tim."

"Not alone there."

"You too?"

Gibbs nodded.

Abby sighed in relief, "I wanna see him, Gibbs."

"He doesn't want you to see him, Abby."

"I know, but… but why?"

"Because… He's not the same anymore, Abbs."

"I know that too. I visited him a few times until you… you told us what he told you... Did you get his file?"

"Abbs…"

"You did, didn't you?"

Gibbs shook his head, "You don't want to see it, Abby."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't."

"Gibbs, please! I need to know what's happening with Timmy. Please!"

Gibbs took in a deep breath. This was against his better judgment, but if she wanted to know as bad as he had wanted to know… there was not a thing that could stop her from seeing the file. He got up and walked over to his desk area, opening the drawer and pulled out a file.

He walked back over to her, "Abby, there are some things in there that you aren't going to like… You understand that, right?"

She nodded, "I understand."

Gibbs handed over the file, then went to his seat and sat back down.

Abby paused for a moment, just staring down at the file, then she opened it and began reading.

Her eyebrows furrowed, "He was hospitalized five times! Twice for being beaten by multiple prisoners…" Her eyes widened, "Once for being stabbed in the leg!" She looked up at Gibbs and he nodded.

"Someone broke off the end of their toothbrush… Didn't do much damage though."

Abby looked down and continued reading, "Once for being bitten by another inmate… And," Her face paled, "Oh my God." She thought she was going to vomit.

Gibbs could see the look on her face, and he felt the need to explain, "His, _now former_, cellmate said he wanted to give Tim a taste of his own medicine."

"That's disgusting! Gibbs, why wasn't he put in PC unit?"

"Judge Fallon. He's got something against Tim, or law enforcement in general… He won't allow it."

"What about some other judge? There's more then one."

"Shawn's tried everything he could. Right now, until after trial, there's nothing anyone can do."

"And there's still no set trial date yet."

Gibbs crossed his arms, "Nope. Prosecution wants as much against Tim as possible, therefore they're waiting until Greg processes everything found in that alley."

"Well, it's taken a while, but he is almost done. He's ran twenty to fifty tests on every piece of garbage found in the dumpster… He's done a pretty good job too."

"He hasn't found anything to clear McGee yet."

Abby sighed, "No, but he hasn't found anything new to convict him either…" She looked back down at the file and her eyebrows raised, "He's _started_ fights?"

"Four of them in the past two months."

"He has _definitely_ changed." Abby stood up and set the file down, "Gibbs, the last bit of good news we got was when I found the hacker six months ago! And that turned out to just be some stupid genius who thought it would be cool to hack into a federal agency… Something's gotta give, Gibbs!"

Just then, Abby's cell phone rang.

"It's Greg," She said, looking at the caller ID. She answered, "Hello."

"Abby, get to NCIS now!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm here and I have to show you something."

"We were given a mandatory day off, Greg. Why are you there?"

"It doesn't matter! Get. here. now!"

"Okay, jeez!"

Abby hung up.

"What is it?" Gibbs asked.

She shrugged, "I don't know… but hopefully it's something giving."

* * *

><p><strong>I was supposed to update Haunted today, but this whole chapter popped in my head and- seeing how difficult it has been for me and this story to get along well- I had to write it out. I hope you guys liked it :) Thanks for reading and reviewing!<strong>

**Also, I wrote Abby a little different than I usually do. I might have been the only one to notice, but if I'm not, I hope it's not out of character. I just think that after six months of what they've all been through, they'd all be a little different.**

**And PC stands for Protective Custody.**


	12. Strong Enough

"What is it, Greg?" Abby asked as she and Gibbs entered the lab.

Greg held up a file, smiling, "Jeremy Harris."

Abby waited for more information, "Is that supposed to mean something?" She asked once Greg said nothing more.

"I found his DNA on a piece of gum that was found in the alley."

Gibbs sighed, "The point, Greg?"

"Oh, right. He was arrested three times in the past five years. Minor stuff. But he's the first person I've found that has a record, or could possibly be linked to Tim."

Abby was a little more intrigued now, "Did NCIS arrest him?"

"Well… no."

Gibbs stepped up a little closer, "Anything to show that he and Tim ever met?"

"Well… no."

"Any of his family members ever get arrested by NCIS?"

"No."

"Any reason I shouldn't smack the back of your head right now?"

"Uh. Um, well the only thing that could possibly tie them together is that Jeremy went to MIT. He and Tim weren't in the same class or anything, but…" Greg sighed and relaxed his body, "Okay, guys, I get that it's not much to go on… but it is enough to get Tim here to question him about this guy."

Abby looked at Gibbs, "Is that true? We could get Tim out of prison for questioning?"

"Maybe."

"Tell Vance that you need to be somewhere trustworthy," Greg continued, "Tell him you can't do the questioning at the prison because you don't know who to or not to trust."

"That'll work?" Abby asked.

Gibbs took a deep breath, grabbed the file from Greg, and began to leave, "Only one way to find out."

* * *

><p>Tony, Ducky, Abby, Ziva, Jimmy and even Greg waited in the observation room. Tim would be coming in at any moment. Whatever Gibbs and Vance had to do to make the questioning happen at NCIS… it worked.<p>

"What do you think he'll be like?" Abby asked.

"Last time I saw him, he looked like a stick," Tony replied.

"Six months in prison is bound to change a person," Ziva said, then sighed, "I just hope he has not changed too much."

"Now, now, let's not overreact," Ducky began, trying to calm the others' nerves, "Timothy is a good man. That is not something that just leaves a person."

"Dr. Mallard is right," Jimmy agreed.

Greg remained silent. He didn't really have any personal connection to Tim as the others did… but six months of trying to prove a man innocent, plus sharing a lab with Abby, who seemed to _never_ run out of "Timmy" stories, Greg_ felt_ like he knew Tim.

Gibbs and Fornell were in interrogation, also waiting for Tim. Gibbs would have preferred to do this alone, but to keep things neutral, he knew Fornell needed to be there.

The doors to interrogation began to open.

Abby took a deep breath, and everyone else held theirs.

"Here goes nothin'," Tony said, feeling so nervous that he could have thrown up.

Tim entered interrogation and everyone's eyes widened, including Gibbs'.

"Oh my God," Abby said in shock.

"He is definitely no longer a stick," Ziva added.

* * *

><p>Tim walked into interrogation, his ankles and his wrists were cuffed, the chains making a sound with every move he made.<p>

"Sit down, Tim," Fornell began. Gibbs found himself unable to speak at the moment… Something that Gibbs had never had a problem with before. Tim was now muscular… _very_ muscular. Take the muscles, the height and add the blank expression on Tim's face and he could seem very intimidating. He just looked so… _different._

Tim sat down, just as he was told, never saying a word in the process.

Gibbs finally found his voice, "Take off the cuffs," He told the guard.

The guard hesitated, but complied. He took off both the ankle and the handcuffs.

"Thank you, you can go," Fornell said to the guard.

The guard nodded and left, leaving just the three of them to begin the questioning.

Gibbs opened Jeremy Harris' file, then turned it so Tim could see his photo.

Tim looked at it for a moment, then he looked up, glancing back and forth from Fornell to Gibbs, "Is this supposed to mean something?" He asked… Even his voice was different. It seemed deeper and… darker.

"His name's Jeremy Harris," Gibbs began, "His DNA was found in a piece of gum that we picked up in the alley."

Tim nodded, "Okay. Did you bring _him_ in?"

"We're looking for him. We needed to know if you knew him. He went to MIT. You two were in different classes, but you were there at the same time."

Tim looked at the picture again and took a deep breath, "No. I don't know a Jeremy Harris."

"You sure?" Fornell asked.

Tim looked at him, "Yes, I'm sure. If I knew who he was I would say "Yes, I know him.""

It was obvious Tim had a major chip on his shoulder. Not that Gibbs could blame him… He just wished none of this would have happened.

Gibbs turned back to the mirror, "Stop the tape," He said, then he turned back to Tim. He paused, "How are you, McGee?"

"I am absolutely wonderful," Tim replied, his voice filled with sarcasm, "Thanks for asking."

Gibbs looked over at Fornell, who took the hint, "I'll be outside," He said, then got up and left.

It was quiet for a moment. Gibbs stared at Tim, and Tim stared straight ahead.

Gibbs moved his chair over, so Tim would be looking right at him, "Talk to me, Tim."

"About?"

"You know what about."

"You mean about my time in prison then?"

"Yes."

Tim smiled, "It's great. We have a quilting class on Monday's, cooking on Tuesday's-"

"McGee, I'm serious. I'm not the enemy here, okay? I'm trying to help you."

Tim took a deep breath. For a moment he said nothing, then he leaned back, relaxing a little, "You know what we tell suspects about how prison will be for them?"

"Yeah."

"Well, we were wrong… It's about a thousand times worse."

That was so hard to Gibbs to hear. None of his agents should ever know, firsthand, what prison is like, "I'm sorry, Tim."

Tim leaned forward, resting his arms on the table, "Breaking one of your own rules?… You read my file didn't you?"

Gibbs nodded, "Yeah, I did."

Tim laughed humorlessly, "That's great… Listen to me, Gibbs. Do _not_ pity me. I don't want it, I don't need it. Now, I said I don't know who this Harris guy is, you don't need me now. Goodbye."

Tim stood up and went to the door. He opened it, "I'm ready to go," He said to the guard. He was re-cuffed and they began their walk out of the building.

* * *

><p>Tim knew every inch of NCIS, inside and out. He knew where every camera was placed, every guard they would pass… and how to avoid it all.<p>

One guard escorting him. That's all he had to take out. He knew what he had to do. The only way to get what needed to be done, _done_.

As they neared the van, they went to the left side. There was no camera at that area of the parking garage. It was a blindspot, and the chain connecting the cuffs on Tim's hands were just long enough to wrap around the guards neck… and Tim was strong enough to do it… so he did.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry if the end was a little confusing. If it didn't make sense now, it will later. I promise :)<strong>

**Thanks for all the previous reviews and thanks for reading and reviewing this chapter as well!**

**Also, in the next chapter we'll be going back a little bit to hear more of Gibbs' and the rest of the team's reactions to Tim after he leaves.**


	13. Count For Something

Gibbs stood up once Tim left. He walked out to the hallway, where he was met by the rest of the team.

There were tears filled in Abby's eyes, and one streaming down her face. Gibbs immediately wrapped his arm around her and held her close.

"He's not the same, Gibbs," Abby said sadly, "Not at all."

"It's okay, Abby," He replied, kissing the top of her head, "It's okay."

"What now?" Tony asked, trying to get his mind off of thinking about how Tim acted, "He didn't recognize Jeremy."

"We find Jeremy anyway and we bring him in for questioning."

"Do you think it is even worth it?" Ziva asked. Everyone looked at her, so she felt the need to explain, "Do not get me wrong. I do not think, for a second, that Tim raped and murdered Alli Fisher, but all we have is one piece of gum in an alley _filled_ with pieces of gum. That is thinner than thin evidence… That is not even evidence."

"Find him," Gibbs said again, looking straight at Ziva, "I don't care if it leads no where. We check everything. You and Tony go now, start looking."

They both nodded and walked off.

"Abigail, do you mind if I talk to Jethro alone for a moment?"

Abby wiped the tears off of her cheeks, "No. I'll, uh, I'll go back to my lab and work on… something."

"No," Gibbs replied, "Palmer, Greg, take Abby to the break room." He could see how horrible Abby looked, and he knew how bad she must feel as well. She and Tim were very always very close.

"No, I'm really fine," She replied, trying to sound convincing.

"Don't argue." He looked over at Jimmy and Greg, "Make sure she sits and gets something to eat and drink."

"Yes, Sir," Jimmy replied. Abby walked off with Greg and Jimmy, leaving Gibbs and Ducky alone.

"Where'd Fornell go?" Gibbs asked.

"He stayed in observation for a little bit, then he left to take a phone call." Ducky could tell Gibbs was about to ask who the call was from, "Do not worry, Jethro, the call had nothing to do with Timothy or NCIS at all."

"What did you wanna talk about, Duck?"

"What do you think, Jethro? Timothy."

Gibbs shook his head, "I don't know what to do, Ducky. I have nothing to say Tim _didn't_ do this. Nothing to get him out of prison. And, did you see him in there? That's not Tim. That's… That's… I don't know who that is!"

"I do not think I have ever seen you so distraught."

"I've never had a situation like this before, Ducky. I've always been able to figure things out and I can't figure this out!"

"I will admit, Timothy did surprise me as well. I did expect change, but seeing and hearing it is so different from what your mind makes up."

"I just-" Gibbs stopped as his phone began to ring. He answered, "Yeah?"

_"Gibbs, get to the parking garage, now!" Fornell yelled._

"Why?" Gibbs asked, but Fornell hung up before the question even got out.

"What is it, Jethro?" Ducky asked.

"I don't know, Duck," Gibbs replied as he started to walk off, "But it can't be good."

* * *

><p>Gibbs went out to the parking garage and began looking for Fornell. It didn't take him long before he saw him… and the guard who was with Tim?.. Lying on the ground?<p>

_'No, no, no, no,'_ Gibbs kept repeating in his head. He quickened his pace until he reached the two of them, "Tell me he's not dead!" Gibbs exclaimed as he knelt by the body.

"No, he's knocked out cold though," Fornell replied, "Medics are on the way."

"My God, Tim, what did you do?" Gibbs said aloud.

"He could've killed him, Jethro, but he didn't. That's gotta count for something."

Gibbs sighed as he looked over the guard, "He took his weapon."

"What?"

"Tim took the guard's gun."

* * *

><p>After hearing an earful from the warden at the prison, Judge Fallon, and Vance, Gibbs decided it was time for everyone to head home for the night. They were told to stay as far away from looking for Tim as possible, but a small look from Vance told Gibbs to do whatever he needed to do.<p>

The whole team had been told that Tim had escaped… and that he had injured a guard in the process.

Everyone handled the news in different ways. Ziva remained quiet. After a couple of minutes of staring off into space, she got back to work, trying to figure out where Tim could be going.

Tony asked a bunch of questions. How'd he get away? Why would he do that? Is he insane? Most of the questions were rhetorical. Just Tony letting out his anger and worry.

Ducky sighed. He didn't seem surprised. He offered some encouraging words to Gibbs, but they fell on deaf ears.

Abby remained surprisingly calm… for the most part. Once she was alone she began to cry, wondering how Tim could have ever ended up in a situation like this in the first place.

* * *

><p>Tim had dumped the van a few hours back. He knew that he wouldn't be able to use it for very long so he dumped it near some railroad tracks that were never used anymore.<p>

Tim also knew that he couldn't go home. That would be one of the first places that officers would be sent… but he needed clothes, and there was only one other place where he knew might have some.

* * *

><p>Tim began searching the apartment for any of his clothes. He didn't know where they might be, but he knew he had to have something somewhere. One thing was for sure… he could <em>not<em> stay in his prison uniform if he wanted to get anything accomplished.

He had been searching for about thirty minutes when the door began to open. He knew what he should do: _Hide!_ But, for some reason, he didn't... He couldn't seem to make himself move.

He stood in the living room, which could be seen clearly from the front door, and he waited.

"Tim!"

"Hi, Abby."

* * *

><p><strong>I wanted to add this chapter this morning, but I ended up spending the night at my sister's house, then we went to The National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum. It was a lot of fun :) I have major respect for any Navy SEAL out there.<strong>

**Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter :) Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	14. Promises

Abby was speechless. She had her mouth open, trying to say something, but nothing would come out.

Tim slowly took a step closer to her. He didn't want to scare her… well, not anymore than he already had just by being there. "I needed some clothes. I can't go home to get them, so… I thought I might have some here."

Abby just stood there, staring at him.

"Abby, I know that this is weird, but I need you to trust me, okay? I know you know that you should call the police, or Gibbs, or anyone right now, but I _just_ need you to trust me. Please."

Abby slowly broke out of her trance, "Wh- What are you doing here?" She asked, apparently not hearing him when he told her his reason not even a minute ago.

"I need clothes. I can't go around like this," He said, raising his arms to show the orange suit.

"Oh, right… Uh, um, I do have something here, I think," Abby replied. She was still pretty shocked that Tim was standing in her living room. She put her things down and walked past him to go to her room.

Tim followed behind her, but made sure to keep a distance between them.

He stood in the doorway as she looked through one of her drawers. A few seconds later she pulled out a John Hopkins t-shirt.

"It's pretty old," She said as she walked over and handed it to him.

"That's fine… my newer stuff probably wouldn't fit anymore anyway."

Abby nodded then went to her closet in search for pants. She found an old pair of his blue jeans in the back of her closet. When she came back out with them, Tim had taken off his orange button-up shirt, and his undershirt. As he put on the t-shirt, Abby _tried_ not to look at his body… and failed miserably. She felt bad at thinking about how good he looked- seeing that he had been in prison for six months, and she knew what he had gone through there- but she couldn't help it… _he looked good._

She cleared her throat and shook her head, hoping he didn't notice her staring. "Here's some pants."

"Thank you."

"Mhm… I'll just… I'll wait in the living room."

* * *

><p>Once Tim had finished changing he came out to the living room. Abby was sitting on her couch, staring straight ahead.<p>

"Can I sit down?" Tim asked.

Abby looked over at him. It was good to see him out of the prison uniform that he _didn't_ belong in.

She nodded, "Yeah."

He walked over to the couch and sat on the far end, "Abby, you need to listen to me, okay?"

Abby turned to him and stared him straight in the eyes. No matter how different he looked, his eyes were still the same. "Okay."

"I know you have a lot of questions that you'll want to ask once you get past the fact that I'm here, but I need you to just not ask anything right now… not about why I'm here, or why I ran."

"Why?"

Tim sighed. Abby would be the one to ask a question immediately after being told to not ask questions. "Because I can't tell you."

"Why?" She asked again.

"Because I have to do this. No one else can… I know it doesn't make sense right now, but I need you to trust me."

Abby felt tears coming to her eyes. Life had changed so much for everyone in the past six months, and _my God_ how she missed Tim. He was her best friend and she had lost him for so long… and now he was at her place! It was so overwhelming.

"I do trust you," Abby replied, trying to keep herself from letting the tears fall.

Tim sighed in relief, "Thank you, Abby."

Tim looked at the clock that was on Abby's wall. He stood up, "I have to go."

"Already?" Abby asked, standing as well.

"I can't waste any time, Abbs. I have to go. It won't be long before someone catches up to me."

Abby could feel her heart breaking,_ again_. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she walked up to Tim and wrapped him in one of her famous hugs.

At first Tim didn't know what to do. He hadn't been hugged in forever. He often dreamed of Abby's hugs when he was in prison, but he hadn't felt that love in a long time. He feared Abby would never want to touch him again. That maybe she felt he _did_ rape and kill that woman. He was so glad to know he was wrong.

After a moment, Tim returned the hug. He never wanted it to end.

"I love you, Timmy," Abby said, crying with her head on his chest.

Tim kissed the top of Abby's head, "I love you, Abby."

They finally, and reluctantly, let go of one another.

Tim gently wiped the tears from Abby's face, "I need you to do something for me, Abbs."

"What?"

"Once I'm gone, call Gibbs. Tell him I was here. Tell him I forced you to get me a change of clothes. That I held a gun to you."

"What? No, I can't do that."

"You have to, Abby. If you don't, you can be put in prison. I won't allow that."

"But, you don't even _have_ a gun."

Tim pointed over to the small table that was by her front door. Abby had been so surprised by Tim being there that she never noticed the gun.

"Oh."

"Promise me you'll do it."

"I… I… Tim if this gets out to the media, which it will, they'll make you sound like a horrible person."

"They've already done that, Abby. It doesn't matter. Promise me."

"Why can't I just say that you were gone by the time I got here?"

"Because, I'm gonna have to take your car."

"What?"

"I promise to leave it in one piece. I just need it so I can get away from here. I won't have it for long, and I'll leave it some place safe."

Abby got her keys off of her coffee table, where she had placed them earlier, and handed them to Tim, "I promise."

"Thank you, Abby," Tim replied. He kissed Abby's cheek then headed for the door.

"Bye, Timmy."

"Bye, Abbs."

Tim left and Abby went back to her couch. She sat down and let herself cry for about ten minutes.

Once she had finally calmed down, she took out her cell phone.

She took a deep breath and speed dialed Gibbs' number.

_"Gibbs."_

"Gibbs, it's Abby," She replied, knowing he rarely looked at the caller ID.

Gibbs could immediately tell something was wrong,_ "What happened, Abby?"_

Another deep breath, "Tim was here…"

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys enjoyed :) More action stuff will be later, but I figured we needed a slightly calmer chapter for now.<strong>

**Let me know what you think!**


	15. Why

Gibbs didn't believe Abby's story for a second, nor did the rest of the team, but they knew it was better that what Abby had claimed go down in the reports. It _did_ cause big problems though. Not only were detectives and US Marshal's searching for Tim, along with NCIS, but now reporters from everywhere were stationing themselves outside of Abby's apartment, Tim's old apartment, Tim's parent's house, Cumberland Correctional Institute, and Sarah's apartment just outside of her college campus.

No one was at Sarah's apartment anymore. Her roommate had left to stay at another place until everything died down, and Sarah left to go to her parent's house. She couldn't handle being at the apartment. Not with all the reporters around yelling every time the door was opened. She hated hearing those peoples questions about her brother.

When she went to her car to leave for her parent's house, they asked her if he ever molested or raped her when she was young. If he showed signs of being a killer. If she was always afraid of him...

It took all she could do to not ring their necks or at least tell them off.

* * *

><p>"Why would Tim do this?" Tony asked as he and Ziva sat in the bullpen. It was now four o'clock in the morning. After getting the phone call from Gibbs they both hurried over to Abby's place, then everyone spent the night there… <em>No one<em> had gotten any sleep. Now, Gibbs was down in the lab with Abby, trying to calm her down enough to rest.

"What do you mean?"

"Why would he run? Why wouldn't he just tell us what was so important? If it was about the guy we showed him-"

"Jeremy Harris."

"Yeah, if it was about him, why didn't Tim say he knew him? Or, if it was about someone else, why didn't he tell us?"

"Maybe he doesn't know."

Tony's eyebrows furrowed, "What?"

"For all we know, Tim could have ran because that was his only choice. He may not know who Jeremy is, or have any idea who did this, but he just needs to figure out who did."

Tony shook his head, "No, not McGee. He's gotta have some sort of plan. He doesn't do things on a whim."

"Tony, he is not the same person he once was-"

"I don't care, Ziva!" Tony interrupted, becoming agitated, "I don't care how different he is, he's still McGee. Not everything about him can change. He's too strong, too set in his ways."

Ziva got up and walked over to Tony, "Tony," She said calmly, "I am not the enemy here. I want to understand just as much as you do. Right now, all any of us can do is guess."

Tony sighed, "I know… I just… I hate this."

Ziva walked back to her desk and sat down, "Me too."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I let him leave!" Abby exclaimed as she paced back and forth in her lab, rubbing her hands together, "I mean... I can't believe he held a gun to my head and stole my car and left."<p>

Gibbs stared at her, "Abby, you can't lie to me. Your statement has already been taken. Now tell me, what did McGee say?"

"Um, he said that I needed to trust him… He said that a lot actually."

"What else?"

"He said that he couldn't tell me what he was doing. Told me not to ask questions…" She shrugged, "I did anyway, but he didn't really answer. He told me he had to do this. That no one else could."

"And why did he go to your place?"

"I told you, for clothes… That was true."

"Why does McGee have clothes at your place?"

Abby stopped pacing and her eyes darted around the room, "Uh… I used to… do laundry for him… on the weekends?"

Gibbs gave her one of his famous stares, "Mhm…"

"It doesn't matter, Gibbs. What does matter is that Tim is out there and there is like a bajillion people looking for him. All who believe Tim is a rapist and a killer and a fugitive and they won't care to kill him! They'll say it's self defense even though it won't be! They can't do that to Timmy! It's not fair Gibbs!"

Gibbs went up to her and wrapped his arms around her. She immediately burst into tears as she held onto him. She felt as though her legs were going to crumble underneath her, and if it weren't for Gibbs holding her, they probably would have.

* * *

><p>Tim left Abby's car in an abandoned parking lot in the outskirts of DC. He knew no one would mess with it there. No one, not even gangs, bothered that parking lot anymore.<p>

Now he would have to walk to where he needed to go… although he wasn't exactly sure where that was. He knew who he needed to _talk_ to. If he wouldn't have known that, he would never have escaped, but he had no idea where this person was at.

If there was one thing Tim was thanking God for at the moment, it was the country. The small areas back in the middle of nowhere that had no cable, no cordless phones, weren't in touch with reality, and were basically cut off from civilization. After about two hours of walking down a dirt road, Tim found that place.

Tim walked into a convenience store where he was met by a freakishly skinny man with a hideous beard and an old, camouflage hat. He was also sporting a red and black flannel t-shirt and a faded pair of jeans.

"Hello," He said to Tim with a nod, and a thick country accent… If Tim didn't know any better he'd think he was in Alabama.

"Hello."

"Anything I can help you with?"

"Do you have a phone?"

"A phone? Yeah. You need a phone?"

"I just need to make a call… I don't have any money though."

The man lifted an old phone, probably from the seventies, onto the counter, "Go ahead, just make it quick."

"I will."

"I'll be in the back."

Tim waited for the man to disappear then he dialed a number.

"Metropolitan Police Department, how may I help you?"

"Hello, this is NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, I need the address of a Jeremy Harris."

"I'm sorry, Agent DiNozzo, I can not give out that information over the phone."

"Listen," Tim began, speaking calmly, "I'm sort of pressed for time here. He's a suspect in an investigation I'm working on and I'm supposed to be on my way to his place right now. My navigation system stopped working and I completely forgot the address."

"Then why don't you call NCIS headquarters?" The woman asked, starting to sound a little flirty… as all people did when _Tony_ was talking.

Tim laughed, "And let my boss know my screw up? He used to be in the Marines."

"Oh… tough."

"You have no idea…"

There was silence for a moment.

"Hm…" The woman said, supposedly in deep thought, "You seem like the trustworthy type. Just give me a second and I'll have the address."

"Thank you."

Tim waited for a few seconds, then the woman came back on the line and gave Tim the address. Tim thanked her and told her to look him up and call him _after hours_, as Tony would do, then he hung up.

"Thank you!" Tim yelled to the man, who was still in the back, then he left out of the store.

Now he knew where he needed to go… and nothing was going to stop him from getting there.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you guys so much for the amazing reviews! I'm sorry if I'm not able to reply, but the site isn't letting me right now. Actually it's not even showing me that I'm getting reviews. If I didn't get an e-mail with the review, I'd have no idea.<strong>

**Thanks again, and I hope you guys liked the chapter :)**


	16. Report

_"Now here is Fran Seaver with an update on former NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee. Fran, what do you have for us?"_

_"Holly, I am standing outside of the Cumberland, Maryland, Federal Correctional Institute where Timothy McGee had been for the past six months, for the rape and murder of Alli Fisher. Alli Fisher was the daughter of Commander Caleb Fisher, who has been stationed in DC for the past two years._

_ Now, Timothy McGee was last scene exiting NCIS headquarters, where he used to work. When he got out to the parking garage he wrapped the chains from his handcuffs around his guard's neck, keeping it there until the guard lost consciousness. Timothy then took the guard's gun and keys to the van. He stole the van and drove it away, then dumped it._

_ From there he went to his former co-worker, Abigail Sciuto's, house. He held her at gunpoint, forcing her to give him a change of clothes and the keys to her car. He changed and took her car, leaving her unharmed. It's unknown how long he had the car, but it was found earlier today, left in an abandoned parking lot._

_ This man is considered very dangerous and everyone should be extremely cautious until he is found. Even his sister, Sarah McGee, has left town. She declined to comment when she was questioned earlier, but everyone could see the fear in her eyes."_

_"Now, Fran, you said that Tim's last known location, with him in custody, was NCIS headquarters. Since that was the last place he worked, do they think someone at NCIS is in on this?"_

_"I'm glad you asked, Holly. As of right now, there is no investigation on anyone at NCIS. Director Vance was not available for questioning, which left negative feelings with some people we talked to earlier._

_ Even though there is no investigation yet, we do know for a fact that Timothy McGee was very close to his co-workers. Some people we spoke to who knew them said that the team he was on is like a family. They would often, even after working two to three days straight on a case, spend their free time together."_

_"And what about this Abigail Sciuto? The fact that he went to her place for clothes must bring up some questions about their relationship, right Fran?"_

_"You are not the first to bring that up, Holly. A lot of people are wondering about the relationship between the two. We have not been able to confirm anything, but we have had an anonymous source contact us saying that the two did have a previous relationship. It ended years ago, but they have remained best friends. Like I said, this has not been confirmed, but our source is very reliable."_

_"Thank you very much, Fran. Is there anything else before you go?"_

_"Yes, just one final reminder that this man has been charged with rape and murder. He is armed and he has been an agent with NCIS for eight years now, which means he knows every tactic on how to evade the law. So, if you go out tonight, be careful. Don't go out alone. For WUSA9 this is Fran Seaver."_

Tony angrily shut off the TV in the squadroom, "Such bull!" He exclaimed.

Ducky shook his head, "You can not believe anything on the news anymore. They don't wait for facts, they just say what they wish to be true. Whatever is easiest for them to believe."

"They make it seem as though we _helped_ Tim to escapade," Ziva added.

"_Escape_," Tony corrected.

"Do they seriously have nothing better to do then question mine and Tim's past? Seriously? They never bothered to ask me about it, they just go with some "anonymous source"? What idiots." Abby let out a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"We can't do anything about them," Gibbs said, although he was just as angry as the rest of them, "We just need to focus on finding McGee."

"How do we do that?" Tony asked with a sigh, "The only thing that woman was right about is that Tim knows how to evade the law. We learned everything we know from you, including how to get from one spot to the next without getting caught."

"That's how we find him," Gibbs replied.

Abby's eyebrows furrowed, "What?"

"That woman was right about more than one thing. We _are_ like a family. Like it or not, we know each other, probably too well. Now, you said I taught you all everything you know, which means McGee is not the only one who knows how to "evade the law". We all do."

"So, we walk in Tim's footsteps?" Ziva asked, looking to Tony to see if she got that expression right.

_"Shoes."_

Gibbs nodded, "Yes. From the moment Tim walked into interrogation. Tony, get the video of McGee in interrogation."

Tony nodded, "Right away, Boss," He said as he began to walk off.

Ziva walked to her desk, "I will check what is around the area that Tim left Abby's car."

"What do you want me to do, Gibbs?" Abby asked.

Gibbs waked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders, "You need to go home and get some sleep. It's late and you need rest."

"I can't sleep, Gibbs! Not with Timmy out there somewhere!"

Ducky came up to Abby, giving the Gibbs the "I'll take it from here" look.

Gibbs stepped aside and Ducky took over. "Abigail, you can be no help to Timothy if you do not rest. When was the last you slept?"

Abby thought for a moment, "Day before yesterday."

"And the last time you ate?"

"When Greg and Jimmy took me to the break room, after Tim was asked about Jeremy."

"That was thirty-four hours ago," Ducky replied. He put his hand on Abby's back and began leading her to the elevator, "I will take you to my place. You will eat and get proper rest-"

"But, Ducky-"

"No buts, Abigail. Jethro will call if there is any news, and we will be back in the morning otherwise."

Ducky looked back at Gibbs, and Gibbs gave him a "thank you" nod. Ducky nodded back then stepped onto the elevator with Abby.

Gibbs sighed. It was going to be a very long night.

* * *

><p>It was almost midnight when Tim made it to his destination. He looked in every window at the house. No lights were on. Either no one was home, or Jeremy was asleep.<p>

Tim easily got one of the windows open- apparently Jeremy didn't worry too much about his safety- and he climbed through it to enter the house.

With his _surrogate_ gun at his side, he made his way through the house. The whole place was empty. Part of Tim was annoyed by that fact, but the other part was relieved. His stomach was one of the relieved parts... He was very hungry.

The old him would never have gone through some random persons kitchen and eaten their food, but he wasn't the same Tim anymore… plus he had been living off of the crap that he was fed at prison, and this man was the reason he was in prison to begin with, so manners didn't exactly matter.

Leaving all the lights off- so Jeremy didn't get suspicious when he pulled up- Tim opened up the fridge, found some leftover pizza, and began to eat.

* * *

><p>It was six in the morning as Tony rubbed his tired eyes. He and Gibbs had watched the tape of Tim in interrogation at least one hundred times. There was no sign of Tim recognizing this Jeremy guy. No change in facial expression. No change in attitude. Nothing.<p>

Ziva had looked around the area of where Tim left Abby's car. Again, nothing. The only thing that showed up around that area was woods.

Tony's desk phone began to ring, "DiNozzo," He answered, his voice sounding exhausted.

"Hello, Agent DiNozzo," A woman replied, her voice filled with flirtation.

"Who's this?" Tony asked.

"Silly, it's me! You don't remember my voice?"

Tony's eyebrows furrowed, "Can't say… I do."

"Well, you sound a little different too… I didn't tell you my name before, but I'm Amy. We talked when you called the Metropolitan Police Department. You told me to look you up and call you _after hours_. Remember now?"

It was clear that she was smiling as she spoke, trying to stay as cute as possible… All it was doing was making Tony more and more confused.

"Uh… yeah."

Amy laughed, "Well, I know it's _before_ hours, but I was just gonna leave a message on your phone. But since you answered-"

"Uh, Amy?"

"Yeah?"

"What did I call you about before?"

Amy was silent for a moment, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I uh," Tony laughed, "I have a bad memory."

"That was your excuse before," She said, returning to her _"cute"_ voice, "You called about needing an address for a suspect."

"Remember the name?"

"Uh… Last name was like Harold or Henry-"

"Harris? Jeremy Harris?"

"Yeah! That was i-"

"Sorry, Amy, gotta go." Tony quickly hung up. As if on cue, Gibbs walked into the bullpen with a new cup of coffee in hand.

"Boss!" Tony exclaimed, already grabbing his gear.

"What?"

"I know where McGee is."

* * *

><p><strong>I thought this chapter would take forever to write, but it didn't. This is my special gift to you all as I wasn't going update until tomorrow. Happy Nothing Day! :)<strong>

**I hope the news report part isn't too confusing. I had it set up a different way, but for some reason the doc. manager won't keep it the way I want it (SO ANNOYING!).  
><strong>

**Hope you guys enjoyed :) Review please! Thanks!**


	17. Lying

The sun was just beginning to shine through the windows as Tim heard Jeremy's front door begin to unlock. There was a perfect hiding spot just beside the door. It was a little half wall, separating the front door from the dining room.

Tim took advantage of that spot, bending down so he couldn't be seen.

Jeremy walked into his house and shut the door behind him. He groaned. Obviously he had had a long night.

Tim watched as Jeremy walked forward. When he had almost gotten to the living room Tim stood up, "Hello."

Jeremy quickly turned around, his eyes wide. When he saw the gun in Tim's hand, he put his hands up. "Why are you here?" He asked nervously.

Tim laughed, "Like you don't know."

Jeremy shook his head, "I- I don't."

Tim took a couple of steps closer to Jeremy, "You're lying."

"No. No I'm not."

Tim sighed, "If you didn't know who I was, the first thing you _wouldn't_ do is ask 'Why are you here?'. It would be more along the lines of, "What do you want?" "Who are you?" or "Take whatever you want, just don't kill me." Therefore, you know who I am, and you know _exactly_ why I'm here."

"H- How'd you get here?"

"I walked."

"They're gonna find you, ya know? You won't be able to kill me."

Tim smiled, "We'll see. Now, get out your phone."

"Why?"

"Now is not the time for you to be asking questions, Jeremy! Get. Out. Your. Phone."

Jeremy nodded, "Okay, okay."

He slowly got his cell phone out of his pocket.

"Now, open the phone and call up your good ole uncle."

"W-"

"No, no, no. Just do it."

Jeremy started going down his contacts.

"You're gonna tell him that you need him to come over. I don't care what excuse you have to make, just make one." Tim took another step towards him, "And I swear that if you even make a sound that I don't like, I _will_ kill you and I won't care to do it."

"O- Okay." Jeremy got to his uncle's number and pressed the call button. It took a while, but he finally convinced his uncle to come to his place. "What now?" Jeremy asked as he hung up.

"Now, we wait."

* * *

><p>"How far is Jeremy's place from here?" Gibbs asked as they got into the car.<p>

"A couple of hours, Boss."

"Do you think he is still there?" Ziva asked. "If he got there last night he could have already-"

"Don't, Ziva," Tony warned, "Just don't."

Ziva nodded and backed off. The others knew she was probably right, they just hoped she wasn't.

* * *

><p>At six thirty, Abby and Ducky came walking into the bullpen.<p>

"Where are they?" Abby asked.

"I don't know."

"They didn't call you?"

"No, they did not."

"Oh my God, something's happened with Tim! I knew I shouldn't have left last night!"

"Now, Abigail, don't jump to conclusions. Let me call Jethro and see what is going on."

Ducky got out his phone and called Gibbs, then waited for him to answer.

"Yeah, it's Gibbs."

"Jethro, Abigail and I are wondering where all of you are at the moment."

"We know where McGee is. We left about half an hour ago. I know I forgot to call, but we had to hurry out."

"It's quite alright. Jethro, I hope you are not taking-"

Gibbs sighed, "I-66?"

"Oh dear, you are. I heard on the radio that there is a bad wreck. Traffic is jammed for miles."

"Yeah, I know. I'm right in the middle of it."

"Jethro, would you like me to call Fornell? He could probably get out there before you."

"No."

Ducky took a deep breath, "I know you want to be the first one there for Timothy, but that may not be possible. Wouldn't you rather Fornell get there and stop him from doing something he will no doubt regret?"

Gibbs paused, "Fine, call him. But you tell him that if he even touches McGee the wrong way-"

"You will make sure he regrets it. I know Jethro. Now, could you tell me where you are going so I can inform Fornell?"

Gibbs gave Ducky the address, then they both hung up. Ducky rolled his eyes, "Why that man thinks everyone must be threatened to do what he wants is something I will never understand."

"What's going on, Ducky?" Abby asked.

"They know where Timothy is, but they are stuck in traffic. I am to call Fornell so he can hopefully get to him first… and soon."

* * *

><p>There was a knock on Jeremy's door.<p>

Tim got up from the couch. He had been sitting across from Jeremy, with his gun pointed directly at him.

"Answer it," Tim said. He had Jeremy walk in front of him, then he moved over to the hiding spot he had used earlier.

Jeremy opened the door, "Hey, Uncle Ryan."

"Hello, Jeremy. What is this about? I was headed into work. It sounded urgent."

Jeremy moved over so his uncle could come inside, "It is," He replied.

Jeremy closed the door and Tim walked out, "Hello, Judge Fallon."

* * *

><p><strong>Isn't it depressing when you go through and read all of your reviews and you are so happy, then you read the VERY last one and it just makes you feel like crap? Yeah, that happened. It wasn't for this story, it was for one of my others. But someone, who apparently reviews regularly under their username, decided to review as a guest as to "not hurt my feelings" for the review they left. Then they left a long review on how I screwed up my story with the direction I took, how stupid it was, how I should have never done what I did, and how it degraded me as a writer. Yeah, I don't care how you leave that review, it hurts. Not gonna lie. You know, I never care for someone to leave a negative review. It's expected. But when you can't even leave it under your own name because you ultimately don't want me to know who you are... that annoys me to no end. Usually I'd leave the review up as it is their opinion, but I was not in the mood to read how stupid I was for writing <em>my<em> story in the way _I_ wanted it to go every time I looked at my review page. So, I deleted it... Sorry for the rant, but I really needed to vent and sometimes this place is like therapy for me.**

**Onto this actual story: I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Not much actually happened, but it was one of those chapters that was necessary for the story as a whole. Thanks for reading and reviewing.**


	18. The Trigger

If it hadn't been such a serious situation, Tim would have laughed at the look on the judge's face. His mouth half open, eyes wide, trying to speak but couldn't. It was all very amusing.

Tim allowed him a moment to let it all soak in, then he began to speak, "Why don't you and Jeremy go sit on the couch?"

The judge finally found his voice… and he tried to be the "tough" one, "No. No, I'm staying here."

Tim cocked his gun as he pointed it directly at Judge Fallon, "That wasn't a request. You either sit," He moved his arm over so the gun was now aimed at Jeremy, "Or I shoot him."

"Okay! Okay," Fallon replied. He and Jeremy slowly walked over to the couch and sat down. "What do you want with us?" He asked once they were sitting.

Tim didn't listen to his question, he just began speaking, "A few months ago, I was in my cell, and a couple of guards came to get me. They took me into a room where a detective was. He was sitting on one side, and they had me sit on the other. I asked for my lawyer, but he told me I wouldn't need one. He said that we were just going to talk… He spent the next ten hours "talking" to me about every little detail of my life."

"I don't understand what that has to do with me!" The judge replied angrily.

Tim ignored him and continued, "He asked me about when I accidentally shot the undercover cop. Accused me of doing it on purpose just to feel the rush of killing someone. Then he asked me about my sister… Actually, I shouldn't be saying "asked", cause he didn't really ask. It was more like he _told me_ that I had feelings of raping and killing my sister as I was growing up. He went into pretty disturbing detail about things that I "wanted to do to her", and I couldn't reach over and ring his neck like I wanted to because then there would actually be a reason for me to be in prison."

"You suffocated a guard," The judge said, "You do deserve prison."

"I didn't kill him, he's fine," Tim replied, "I_ could_ have killed him. I could have done it easily, but I didn't, because he didn't deserve to die. Now stop interrupting me."

The judge took a deep breath, but kept his mouth shut.

"After all of that, he brought up my past relationship with my former co-worker, Abby," Tim shook his head as the memories of those questions came into his head, "He accused me of raping her. Said she was just too afraid to come forward because I threatened her," Just thinking about it made Tim unbelievably angry, "God, I _love_ her! I would never hurt her! They accused me of hurting every person I cared about! Every person!"

* * *

><p>Fornell pulled up to the house. There were a couple of cars in the driveway, but Gibbs wasn't there. For now, he was on his own.<p>

He went around the house, trying to look in every window, but they were all closed. Seeing no other way in, he went to the front door… and knocked.

At the sound of the knock, Tim looked over at the door, then quickly looked back to the two men on the couch. He didn't want them to think they had time to jump him and possibly take the gun away.

"Who is it?" Tim asked.

"McGee? It's Fornell! Open up."

"Sorry, Agent Fornell, can't do that."

"Is everyone safe in there?"

Tim knew what Fornell wanted to know, "Both of you, tell him you're fine."

"He's trying to kill me!" Jeremy yelled.

"We're okay!" Fallon answered.

Fornell's eyebrows furrowed. He wasn't expecting two hostages.

"Are they gonna stay okay, McGee?"

"Afraid I can't answer that right now!"

* * *

><p>An hour went by before Gibbs, Tony and Ziva arrived. Fornell was still waiting outside the house. He had thought about charging in, but then he started listening to Tim continue his stories about being in prison. Hearing that, he decided the two men inside the room could wait a while longer for help.<p>

"Two inside with McGee," Fornell said as they walked up to him.

"Two?" Gibbs questioned.

"Surprised me too. How do you wanna do this, Jethro?"

"Like this." Gibbs knocked on the door.

"I already tried that. It didn't work."

"What?" Tim called out.

"It's Gibbs! Let us in, McGee!"

It was silent for a moment.

"I told you, Jethro-"

Fornell stopped as the door unlocked and opened.

Gibbs turned to him and smirked, then walked inside. Tony and Ziva followed, and Fornell went last.

Tim was behind the door, allowing them to have room to get inside. He shut the door behind Fornell and turned to see all eyes on him.

"Hi," He said to them, breaking the ice.

"Hi," Tony replied.

"What are you doin', McGee?" Gibbs asked.

Tim walked past them and went over to Jeremy and Judge Fallon.

"Meet Jeremy everyone. Jeremy and I both went to MIT. We were never in class together, but we did major in the same thing. Jeremy screwed up after college. He got into some trouble and ruined his chances of becoming an NCIS agent, which is something he always wanted to do. He, specifically, wanted my job. Not the one at Norfolk, but the one I have now." Tim turned to Gibbs, "He knew about you and the team before I did. He wanted the job before I did... Recently his life had been going increasingly downhill. So, he's been getting angrier and angrier at me and ultimately decided to frame me as to get revenge. Isn't that right, Jeremy?"

Jeremy wouldn't speak, so Tim moved onto Judge Fallon.

"Ryan here, is Jeremy's uncle. He was ashamed of Jeremy so he broke all ties between them, only recently being back in his life-"

"I didn't know!" Fallon interrupted, "I didn't know he did it!"

"No, you didn't," Tim agreed, "But you had a feeling. Not long ago you saw that we had both gone to school together. You remembered him talking about wanting to work at NCIS. You realized the ties between us, but you didn't want to admit to the truth. Not after that _beautiful_ performance in court."

"You raped and killed a girl just because you were jealous of Tim?" Ziva questioned, disgusted by both men in front of her.

"No!" Jeremy exclaimed, "He's lying! He's the one who raped and killed her!"

Tim held the gun to Jeremy's temple, "You either tell the truth, or I kill you. You choose."

Jeremy's breathing quickened. He looked at all the agents, "You wouldn't let him do that… Would you?"

Fornell sighed, "Well, I have the day off so, technically, I'm not here."

"And from my point of view," Gibbs continued, "It looks as though you were trying to attack him when he fired his weapon."

"All in self defense," Ziva added.

Jeremy looked at Tony, "What about you?"

"_Definitely_ self defense."

Tim pressed the gun even harder against his temple.

"Okay! Okay! I did it!"

"Did what?" Tim asked.

"I raped that girl, killed her too. I broke into Tim's place and stole his jacket so it would look like he did it. Please don't kill me!"

"My God he is a wimp," Ziva said, resisting the urge to charge up to him and beat the crap out of him.

Tim uncocked the gun, then cocked it back. Back and forth, back and forth, just to freak Jeremy out.

"Don't. Please don't!" He begged, "Uncle Ryan! Stop him!"

"I… I…" He didn't know what to say. He had had the feeling that Jeremy was the true killer for so long, but he wouldn't let himself admit it. Now he could no longer pretend that Jeremy was a good man.

"Uncle Ryan!"

Then, Tim pulled the trigger.

Jeremy screamed, closing his eyes tightly, but nothing happened.

Tim snorted, "You really think I'd just kill you?"

Jeremy slowly opened his eyes, shocked that he was still alive.

"You don't get off that easy."

Tim walked over to Gibbs and handed him the gun, "It's not loaded."

Tony walked up to Jeremy, and Ziva walked up to Judge Fallon. They both grabbed the men up by the shoulder and started to cuff them, speaking at the same time, "You're under arrest for..."

"Want me to call it in?" Fornell asked Gibbs, "Or do you wanna do the honors?"

"No, go ahead," Gibbs replied. Most times he would definitely want to make this call, but there were bigger things to worry about right now.

Fornell nodded and walked out of the house to make the call.

Ziva walked out with the judge, and Tony followed closely behind with Jeremy, "You shouldn't have decided to spit out that gum in the alley, _Jer_," Tony said as he "gently" led Jeremy out of the house.

"What are you talking about?" Jeremy asked nervously, "I didn't spit out gum. I don't chew gum!"

"Oh shut up."

Gibbs turned to Tim, "Ready to go?"

"No," Tim replied, "I hate that prison."

"You won't be there much longer," Gibbs replied, "And I guarantee you'll have PC this time."

Tim sighed, "Yeah… Gibbs?"

"Mhm?"

"How did you know I wouldn't shoot him? I know you wouldn't have _really_ let me do it, so how did you know?"

"Cause I know you, Tim. And, no matter what, you're not a killer."

"I wasn't so sure. I kinda feel that if I wouldn't have unloaded the gun before he got here, I still would have pulled the trigger."

"But you did unload it, McGee. That says a lot."

Tim nodded, although he wasn't very sure he believed Gibbs.

Gibbs put a hand on Tim's shoulder, "You don't have to worry anymore, Tim. It's over now."

Tim took a deep breath, "No, it's not."

* * *

><p><strong>You guys seriously know how to make me feel better. Your support is so amazing. Thank you all so much :) I wish I could give you all big Abby-sized hugs!... So, imagine I am ;)<strong>

**Also, if some things in the chapter don't seem to make sense, then that's okay. There's still a lot of explaining to do.  
><strong>


	19. Once More

They were all there. Tony, Ziva, Gibbs, Vance, Ducky, Jimmy and Abby. All lined up in a row, sitting, waiting for the judge to enter the courtroom.

In front of them was Tim's family. His mom, dad, then Sarah.

Standing in the back was Fornell and Greg. They had been a part of this from the beginning, so they felt the need to be there. Everyone else wanted them there as well.

Twelve reporters stood in the room, all desperate to hear what was about to happen.

Then there was Tim. He was in a different courtroom, but in the same spot as before. His lawyer right by his side.

He wasn't wearing a jumpsuit this time. No, this time he had a _real_ suit on. And he was clean. That was something he hadn't realized he enjoyed so much until he went six months of showering in a room filled with other men… Actually _getting_ clean wasn't the first thing on his mind during those times. Just getting out alive was.

Tim didn't even hear when the bailiff announced the judge entering. He just saw everyone stand, so he did the same.

"Be seated," The female judge said as she sat down.

"This is Judge Waters," Shawn whispered to Tim, figuring he hadn't heard when the bailiff said it.

"I don't want to waste everyone's time. Especially Mr. McGee's. Too much of his time has already been wasted.

"Timothy McGee was charged with a crime that he did not commit. Not only that, he was treated unfairly by the justice system. Specifically by adjudication and corrections. It sickens me when judges think they are better than anyone else. The least that could have been done was placing Timothy under protective custody while imprisoned.

"It was by the amazing work of NCIS and the FBI that man _truly_ guilty of rape and murder, who should have been placed behind bars months ago, was found.

"Now, Mr. McGee did break some laws. However, I feel that he has already served his time for those small crimes- all which led to the capture of the real rapist and killer. I know it doesn't seem like much Mr. McGee, but I do apologize... That being said, Timothy McGee is released from custody, effective immediately. Court is adjourned."

Shawn stood up first, smiling widely. Tim stood up after him and shook his hand, "Thank you," He said.

Shawn shook his head, "No, it wasn't me. Thank them," He replied, nodding towards the team.

Everyone was waiting for a hug. Tim, of course, went to his family first. He hugged each of them, letting his mom and Sarah cry on his shoulder. His dad's eyes were filled with tears, but he didn't let them fall.

Next, Tim went to his team. He had to hug Abby first. He could see she was shaking and desperately wanting a hug from him, plus _he_ really wanted one of her hugs too. Next was Ziva, then Ducky. A handshake from Vance, and a surprising hug from Jimmy.

Tony stuck out his hand for Tim to shake and, when Tim did, Tony pulled him into the biggest big brother hug he could manage.

Gibbs was last, coming up to Tim. They looked each other in the eyes, staying silent. It seemed as though Gibbs wanted to say something, but he didn't know how to put it into words. Tim understood though. Gibbs didn't need to speak. Ending the stare that seemed to have a full conversation within it, Gibbs hugged Tim, just like any father would hug their son.

Fornell came up to Tim and shook his hand, and Greg was last. "Congratulations," He said with a nod and a handshake.

"Thank you," Tim replied, "For everything."

...For the first time, in a very long time, Tim felt like he could breathe.

* * *

><p>That night everyone went to Ducky's for a small get together. They were going to go out to eat, but Tim didn't want to. He didn't feel comfortable out in public- as everyone who watched TV, read the paper, or was part of civilization in general knew who he was.<p>

The next day, per Vance's request, Tim came into work. Vance didn't actually tell him he had to come in that day, but Tim wanted to. They stayed in Vance's office for a couple of hours, each second making Gibbs and the rest of the team more and more anxious.

"What is it, Gibbs?" Fornell asked as he and Greg walked into the bullpen, "I finally get back to my _actual_ job and you need my help again?"

Gibbs glared at him, "I've got something I need to clear up. Go in the conference room."

"Jethro, how long is this gonna take? We do have to work, you know?"

"Just go, Tobias."

Fornell sighed, visibly annoyed, but turned and walked to the conference room with Greg following behind.

* * *

><p>Gibbs was waiting as Tim exited Vance's office.<p>

"Hi, Gibbs," Tim said, adding a small smile.

"McGee. Come with me."

Tim's eyebrows furrowed, "Where?"

Gibbs began walking away, and Tim followed. "Conference room."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

They walked to the conference room. "Go on," Gibbs said as he opened the door.

Tim walked in to see Fornell, Greg, Abby, Tony, Ducky, and Ziva all sitting inside.

"What's this?" Tim asked, very confused.

"Sit," Gibbs replied, walking around him and going to the head of the table.

Tim sat down and gave Tony a "what the heck is going on" look. To which, Tony replied with a "no on knows" look.

"Something doesn't make sense, and I don't know what it is," Gibbs started, "And none of us are leaving here until I do."

"We're your hostages?" Fornell questioned.

"If you wanna see it that way."

"Can we just hurry it up?" Tim asked, "I've spent enough time trapped in a closed space."

Everyone was still trying to get used to the different-yet-somehow-the-same Tim. It had only been a day, so they figured it would get easier sometime. But, just little things that Tim wouldn't say or do before, that now he would say or do so easily… It made them feel a little uneasy. Although they'd never say it out loud.

Gibbs sat down, "I heard Jeremy say something about gum, when Tony said he shouldn't have left it in the alley. He said he didn't leave it there. That he didn't even chew gum."

"Boss, he was just lying," Tony replied, "Criminals tend to do that."

Greg cleared his throat, "Tony's right. Criminals _do_ do that, but…"

"But, what?" Fornell asked, now as curious as Gibbs.

Greg looked at Tim, "Is it okay?"

"Yeah."

Greg nodded, "That gum didn't have Jeremy's DNA on it. It did, however, have mine."

"What!" _Almost_ everyone exclaimed at once.

Greg looked over at Tim again, "You want me to explain, or do you want to?"

"Greg heard about the judge and how he treated me at arraignment... You could say his _gut_ told him to check it out, so he did."

Greg took over, "I searched for about three months, trying to find something about this guy. Then, a couple of days before I called Abby into the lab, I found out about Jeremy. The only connection I could find between Jeremy and Tim is that they both went to MIT… _until_ I dug deeper. I found out that Jeremy had applied to work at NCIS,_ specifically_ to be on your team. However, his application was practically just thrown away because of his past with the law. I knew this was more than a coincidence. Just being around you guys for the past few months taught me not to believe in coincidences. So, I went to Tim and told him about it."

"Wait," Abby said, raising her arms. She turned to Tim, "So, you knew about this Jeremy guy before you were even brought in to NCIS?"

Tim nodded, "Yup."

"I faked the gum so we'd have a reason to bring Tim in for questioning."

Fornell took a deep breath, "You knew he'd try to escape?"

"Yes, I knew. We planned it together."

"This is unbelievable," Tony said, shaking his head.

"I do not understand," Ziva said, her eyebrows furrowed, "Why did you not just let _us_ get Jeremy? Why have Tim escape and go through so much danger?"

"You wanna take this one, Tim?"

Tim sighed, " I called that woman and pretended to be DiNozzo cause I knew that she'd call him." He turned to Tony, "As you say, no one can resist the 'DiNozzo charm'. I knew you guys would show up soon enough. I just wanted- _needed-_ to do this myself."

"Why?" Gibbs asked with a shrug.

"Because… I needed to feel like an agent just once more."

"What are you saying, Timothy?" Ducky asked.

"I'm saying… I'm not coming back. I'm leaving NCIS."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm thinking there will be one more chapter, then that will be all for this story :( I'll miss it dearly! I've so enjoyed writing it, even though (at first) it gave me a lot of trouble.<strong>

**Thanks for reading. Please review!**


	20. Family

Everyone at the table, besides Greg, was shocked.

No one spoke for the what seemed like longest time, even though it was actually only a few seconds.

Tony finally broke the silence, "What did you say?"

"I'm leaving NCIS. I've already talked to Vance about it… That's actually why I came in today."

"You can't do that!" Abby exclaimed.

"Abigail, calm down," Ducky said, giving her a stern look. He then turned to Tim, "We understand you wanting to take some time off, Timothy. You deserve that-"

Tim shook his head, "It's not just taking time off, Ducky. I'm not coming back. _Ever_."

"You are making an irrational decision," Ziva replied, shaking her head, "You have not had time to think things through."

"I've had six months to think things through."

"That is not what I mean."

"Ziva, it's my decision."

"It's a stupid one," Tony mumbled angrily.

"Tony, don't," Tim warned.

"Don't what? You've been out of prison for a day, Tim! _One_ day!"

Gibbs could see that this was all going downhill, and it would only get worse if he let it continued. So, he stood up, "Everyone out."

They all looked at him, but none of them moved, so he said it again, "Every. One. Out."

Slowly they began to stand up. Fornell and Greg were out first, then Ducky, Ziva, Abby and Tony. Tim remained sitting, "I'm guessing you wanted me to stay?" He asked, rhetorically.

Gibbs walked over to a chair closer to Tim and sat down, "Explain, McGee."

Tim sighed, "When I walked in here this morning, everyone stared at me. Every single person I passed by."

"That's to be expected, Tim."

"I know that. It wasn't just a 'Wow, he's been through a lot' stare, or a 'I can't believe he's back' stare. It was… different. Like, even though they heard I didn't do it, they still wondered if I did."

"McGee, if you want me to take care of those idiots, I will. They won't be a problem."

Tim smiled slightly, "I know. But, it's not just at work. It's everywhere I go here. Going to my car this morning, a woman was walking down the street. I nodded at her and said good morning, just to be friendly, and the look on her face…" Tim shook his head, "Her eyes widened, she started walking faster and then she turned away from me, like she was terrified of me. Gibbs, people don't care that I'm innocent. They don't care that we found the real killer. They've heard, for six months now, about how horrible I am. They've heard made up or exaggerated stories about me. _Legally_ clearing my name, doesn't mean it's clear with the public. I will forever be the agent that was suspected of rape and murder. And, even though I didn't do it, I must somehow be a horrible person for my name to even come up in the first place."

"That's not true, Tim."

"I know _you_ know that, but the general public doesn't. I turned on the news last night and my face was on the side of the screen. Two reporters were questioning whether NCIS put Jeremy Harris up to this _just_ to clear my name…

"You know how this works, Gibbs. Someone- _anyone_- gets accused of something, the life that they had before is screwed up for good. I never understood that before. I do now… It sucks, but it's true." Tim took a deep breath, "Gibbs, I can't go out in the field everyday, go to question a witness, and have them look at me in that 'did-he-or-didn't-he' way. I can't do that. I _won't_ do that."

"Take a job in Cyber-crimes then. Or work from your desk."

"I wouldn't be happy just sitting at my desk all day, every day. Nor would I be happy in Cyber-crimes. I've been there before, and I know that that's not where I belong."

"You belong here, Tim. On my team."

"I've enjoyed every second of working here, Gibbs… Well, maybe not _every_ second, but most seconds. This place has been my home." Tim laughed, "I've spent more time here than at my own apartment." His laugh disappeared and he became serious once more, "Gibbs, you've taught me so much. You helped me to grow up, and you taught me how to speak up and stand up for myself. You've been a second father to me, and nothing I do or say can ever tell you how much I appreciate that. I would not be who I am today if it wasn't for you… I have to move on, Gibbs. I can't stay here knowing every person I talk to is wondering whether I committed such a terrible crime. I need a new start."

Holding back the tears that threatened to fill in his eyes, Gibbs took a deep breath. He understood Tim completely, although he wished he didn't. He didn't want to lose a member of his team. A member of his family.

Gibbs stood up and Tim followed suit. Gibbs stuck out a hand for Tim to shake, "Your family's always here for you, Tim. You know that, right? You'll always be welcome here."

Tim smiled and returned the shake, "I know, Gibbs. Thank you."

Gibbs pulled Tim into a hug, then they went out to join the rest of the group- who were, no doubt, waiting right outside.

* * *

><p>Tim had a chance to explain everything to everyone and, even though none of them were happy about him leaving, they understood.<p>

That night, the whole team went to Gibbs' house to eat and talk. They laughed, some cried- _the girls_-, but they had a good time just telling old stories and playing card games.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Tim came into NCIS to get his things. Everyone stood in the bullpen, not wanting- or willing- to leave until Tim said goodbye.<p>

"Wow, you guys did not move a thing while I was gone, did you?"

"We always planned for you to be coming back," Tony said, leaning against his desk with his arms crossed. "We didn't even dust."

Tim blew on his stapler, "Yes, I see that," He replied as he stuck it in the box he was given.

"Need help?" Ziva asked.

"No!" Abby exclaimed, "If you help, it won't take as long."

Tim smiled slightly, "No thank you, Ziva. I've got it."

"So, you leave tonight, Timothy?" Ducky asked.

"Yeah. I'll be going back home with my parents, then staying with them until I find an apartment and a job."

Tim put the last of his things into the box and did one last check to make sure he didn't forget anything. "I think that's it," He said. He looked up, noticing them all staring at him. "Oh, come on guys, don't do this," He begged, "All these puppy dog faces."

"Are they working?" Ziva asked.

Tim grinned but shook his head, "No."

"Darn."

Jimmy came up to Tim and shook his hand, "Bye, Tim."

"Bye, Jimmy."

Ducky began to walk around the desk, but Tim met him halfway. He gave Tim a hug, "Stay safe, Timothy. You need anything, day or night, you can call me."

"Even if I just want to hear one of your stories?"

Ducky smiled and pointed at Tim, "Especially then."

Next, Ziva went up to him. She wrapped her arms around him, placing her head on his chest, "I will miss you, Tim. You were the best medicine for when I wanted to murder Tony."

Tim laughed, "Thanks… I think."

Ziva kissed his cheek, "Goodbye, Tim."

"Goodbye, Ziva."

Tony sighed as he walked up to Tim. He also refused to make eye contact. "I don't wanna get cheesy, or all sentimental."

"That's fine, To-"

"You're like a brother to me, McGoo. I mean, I know I tease you to death, but it's only cause I care about ya."

"I know, Tony."

Tony finally made eye contact. His eyes were red, but he would never admit to that. If it was mentioned, he'd just say it was allergies. "You're like my right-hand man. My McWingMan, my McAmigo, my McHomey. You're the Chandler to my Joey. You're the-"

"Tony," Gibbs interrupted, "He's got a plane to catch in eight hours."

"Right," Tony said, "So, since I'm not going to get all sentimental, I'll just keep it short. Later, McProbie."

Tim smiled, "Later, Tony."

Tony pulled Tim into what he would call a "man-hug". Then he walked over to Ziva, who was over at her desk, so the next person could have their turn.

Gibbs came up to him. They had already said their goodbye's the day before, when they were together in the conference room, so Gibbs simply nodded. Tim seemed to understand the full conversation within that nod, and nodded back.

Gibbs hugged him, "You've always got a home here," He whispered.

"Thank you, Gibbs."

And last was Abby. She was lingering in the background, over by Gibbs' desk. Instead of walking over to Tim, she kept her head down towards the ground and he walked over to her.

He placed his hand under her chin and gently lifted her face. There was a tear running down her cheek, which he wiped away. "It's gonna be okay, Abby."

"No it's not," She replied sadly. "I just got you back, Timmy, and now you're leaving me all over again."

"I thought you understood why I can't stay."

"I do… but I _want_ you to stay. You're the only one who can stay in my lab for long periods of time and not annoy me. You know me better than anyone."

"Not better than Gibbs."

She shook her head, "No… It's different with you, Tim."

Feeling himself falling apart, Tim wrapped his arms around Abby, giving her the biggest hug he could manage. She returned it with one of her famous Abby-hugs.

"I love you, Abbs," He said to her as they hugged.

More tears escaped her eyes, "I love you too, Timmy," She replied, her voice breaking halfway through the sentence.

After a moment of them just hugging, Abby leaned back so she could see Tim's face. His eyes were filled with tears, and he felt overwhelmed with emotions. She put a hand on his face, then kissed his cheek. She knew that if she didn't let go of him now, she never would.

"I won't say goodbye to you."

"Good," Tim replied, "Cause I won't either."

He took a deep breath and walked back to his desk. He picked up his box of stuff and took one last look around, "Well…" He couldn't seem to find any right or appropriate things to say. Hiding his sadness, he smiled as he headed for the elevator.

"Wait!" Abby called out, grabbing something off of Gibbs' desk and running towards him.

Tim turned back, "What is it, Abbs?"

"Bert," She said, holding up the stuffed hippo, "I want you to have him."

"Oh, Abby, I can't…"

"You can't keep him. Not forever. You have to return him sometime… in person."

Tim shifted the box over so he could hold it with one arm, and took the hippo in the other, "Thank you, Abby. I'll take good care of him. I promise."

"I know you will." She said, her lip trembling, "See you soon, Timmy."

Tim smiled at her, then turned back. He walked to the elevator and pressed the button, hoping the doors would open soon.

A couple of seconds later they opened and he stepped inside.

He took a deep breath as he pressed the '1' button with shaky hands. The doors closed and Tim let a tear that had been threatening to fall, fall.

The elevator took him to the main floor and he stepped off, then headed outside.

He walked to his car and put his things inside, placing Bert in the passenger seat.

Tim took one last look at NCIS headquarters, then he got into his car and left.

* * *

><p><strong>The End!<strong>

**Okay, before you guys hate me... I was thinking about doing a sequel to this story. However, I have to start my sequel to 'Triangle' first. I already have an idea for the sequel, but if you guys think I should just leave it, let me know.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed the story. Thank you for all the amazing support you've shown me through reviews, alerts, and just by reading :) It means a lot.**

**God Bless!**


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